


American Witches in London

by R_Sublett



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Gryffindor, Harry Potter AU, Hogwarts, Hogwarts AU, Horned Serpant, Hufflepuff, Ilvermorny, Magic AU, OC, Pukwudgie, Ravenclaw, She Slicc, Slytherin, This one goes out to Lizard, Thunderbird - Freeform, Wampus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:39:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Sublett/pseuds/R_Sublett
Summary: The Ministry of Magic has come to an agreement with MACUSA and is allowing Ilvermorny students to study abroad for a year and partake in the Wizard Tournament. Lindsey, Mara, Robin, and Jordan embark on an exciting trip to Hogwarts where they can't help but feel out of place. As they struggle to fit in with the other students they face challenges such as egotistical Wizards, a riveting Quidditch tournament, and of course the Wizard Tournament.





	1. Part One

Summer had come and gone in the blink of an eye. Autumn was already approaching as the leaves in Central Park changed colors and the air was starting to chill. As always, nightfall came much quicker and as the sun was setting two days before school would be starting, two girls sat on a balcony of an apartment complex. One of the girls was resting her head on the metal bars of the balcony while swinging her legs back and forth off the ledge, the other was sprawled out on the concrete floor looking up at the setting sun. It was going to be their final year at school and both girls had mixed feelings about what this final year would entail. Behind them, the glass door leading back into the apartment was cracked open and they could hear people moving about as they did last minute checks to see if they had packed everything. Despite the commotion going on inside the apartment both girls had chosen to savor the last bit of peace they had left before returning to school.  
“I think we’re the only ones who aren’t excited about going.” One of the girls said over the sounds of the city below. The other girl, the one laying on the floor just nodded her head and closed her eyes. “Don’t you feel weird about attending a different school for your final year? I do. It makes me feel incomplete in a strange way.”  
“I guess so. I’m just not excited because I know everyone is probably going to hate us.”  
“You think so?”  
“Yeah Lindsey, I think they will.”  
Lindsey nodded in response to what her friend had said. A part of her agreed but a part of her just thought Robin was being pessimistic, or perhaps self conscious. Robin was a No-Maj born and already got enough grief about it from kids at Ilvermorny, and rumor had it that kids from Hogwarts were sort of stuck up.  
“I don’t want to spoil things for Mara though.” Robin said as she pushed herself off of the floor and started stretching her back. “She’s the only one out of all of us who is excited for this year abroad thing and considering how difficult her internship was this summer, going back to school is almost like a vacation for her.” Robin opened up the door and slid back into her apartment and Lindsey followed quickly behind.  
As Robin was the one who lived closest to Ilvermorny at the end of each summer since both the girls were second year, Lindsey and her brother Jordan always spent a few days with Robin in NYC before catching the train to school. However this year they had spent the whole summer with one another as Lindsey’s mother was in Europe for the season doing a study on dragons. Mara was also in the city for the summer because she had an internship with MACUSA, however she decided to stay with a couple of friends who lived in Queens just so Robin’s apartment wasn’t too cramped all vacation.  
Lindsey had already packed up her things the night before, all she needed to do was throw her toiletries in a suitcase and she would be all set. Her suitcase was already by the door next to Robin’s backpack, broomstick, and duffle bag which were ready to go as well. Mara was the only one with a trunk, almost all Purebloods used trunks, but Lindsey always thought trunks were a little unnecessary when it came to packing. In the living room her brother, Jordan, was ironing one of his robes before neatly folding it into his case.   
Robins parents finished making dinner and called everyone into the kitchen so they could eat. Mara was still amazed at all the appliances such as the fridge and electric mixer that sat on the counter and Lindsey could only laugh as she prodded at the appliance. They all ate happily and Robins parents kept telling her how much they would miss her as she studied abroad and she promised to send them as many photos as she could.  
“I’ll try as best I can.” She said in between mouthfuls of pasta, “But Don definitely cannot fly overseas to deliver letters and I don’t know how good the cell signal will be.” Don was Robin’s owl. He was a small Barn Owl with a delicate light brown and white feather pattern. Not only had the apartment been crowded with people but also animals as Lindsey and Jordan had owls of their own, and theirs were much bigger than Robins. Lindsey was the proud owner of a Barred Owl named Jamie while Jordan owned an aggressive Horned Owl named Beatrice. Thankfully Ilvermorny sent a letter around the middle of the summer stating they would take care of all pet transportation to Hogwarts. The three owls, as well as Mara’s cat named Angus, had been collected by a MACUSA agent two days before.  
After dinner everyone helped with the washing up and soon people started to get in bed. A busy day of travel was ahead of the four students. They would have to take a six and a half hour plane ride the following morning where they would all land at Heathrow Airport. Mara complained about how nervous she was and cursed the fact she couldn’t just apparate all the way to London. Plane was the quickest way to get to London yet Lindsey still heard about most of her classmates taking a boat all the way across the ocean.  
Most students at Ilvermorny were Purebloods. The laws allowing marriage between Magical and Non-Magical in America were passed in the 1900’s so most Witches and Wizards hadn’t warmed up to the idea of potential Half-Bloods. That meant No-Maj born like Robin were incredibly rare and so were Half-Bloods like Lindsey and her brother Jordan. Their mother was a talented Witch while their father was a zoologist. Her parents bonded over their love of magical and non-magical creatures and even though Lindsey’s father passed away when she was only five years old, she knew that her mother loved him with all her heart.  
The next morning everyone awoke in a frenzy. Robin wished her parents a loving goodbye before helping Mara take her trunk to the elevator so they could catch the proper train. It was too early in the morning for anyone to notice four teenagers riding the subway, one of which dragging a rather large trunk behind them with with an emblem of a school no one had ever heard of and the rest were holding broomsticks. Soon they arrived at JFK airport in time to check their bags and go through security without any problems. Well, Mara was extremely confused to say the least but with detailed instruction from Robin she made it through okay. They even had time to get breakfast.  
Despite Mara gripping onto Jordans arm so hard she left bruises during the entire take off sequence; the flight went rather well. Mara ended up sleeping almost the entire trip because she was so nervous she couldn’t stand to stay awake the whole time. Jordan read through the latest copy of The Quibbler, a magazine he always loved reading and he found especially helpful now that he would be overseas and attend Hogwarts for a year. Lindsey stayed occupied with a few No-Maj books she enjoyed while Robin read through a copy of The Daily Prophet. While The Prophet wasn’t an American news source it did seem the most reliable when it came to the Wizarding World. Robin had few ties to the Wizarding World and wasn’t a frequent visitor considering she was a No-Maj born, but Mara would always pick her up a copy of the newspaper when she was attending her internship. Robin enjoyed the moving pictures.  
All The Prophet had been reporting on for the past few days was the Wizard Tournament happening at Hogwarts this year. Several people were in outrage over the fact that the Ministry of Magic had come to an agreement with the Magical Congress and were now allowing students from Ilvermorny to attend class at Hogwarts for the year as well as participate in the tournament. It no longer had the name of Triwizard Tournament since there were now more than three school participating.  
The flight landed sooner than everyone anticipated and after Jordan had to shake Mara awake they were able to finally unboard the plane and take a cab to the hotel where they would be staying for the night. It was evening in London and the teens marveled at the picturesque sights they were seeing. They could see Big Ben and even the bridge which was exciting, and all during the cab ride they were pointing out the windows. All of them, except for Mara, wished they could just attend school in London for the year instead of attend Hogwarts.  
“Maybe we’re just psyching ourselves out.” Lindsey said as she brushed her teeth. Robin and Jordan shrugged their shoulders while Mara rolled her eyes.  
“ _Of course_ you’re psyching yourselves out. Hogwarts is the best Wizarding school in the entire world, think of all the stuff we are going to learn. I highly doubt anyone will actually hate us like you guys think they will.” She said as she tucked herself into bed. Lindsey, Robin, and Jordan all still felt unsure about what Mara said and tried to shake off their nerves before getting into bed.  
“Whether they hate us or not is a problem for the future-”  
“They aren’t going to hate us Jordan.”  
“Okay, but the only thing I think we should be worried about is what the hell platform 9 ¾ is.”

+++

The only instructions the teens were given were written out in a letter that had their train tickets enclosed in the envelope. All the Letter said was to be at platform 9 ¾ in King Cross Station in London before eleven o’clock. So far, the teens were at King Cross Station but were at a loss for what platform 9 ¾ was. Mara inspected her ticket as she leaned on the cart her trunk was resting on and Jordan was looking around feeling helpless.  
“Oh my god this is hopeless and we are going to have to be shipped back to Ilvermorny by the time this is all over.” Robin groaned. She took a step back and ended up slamming into someone behind her.   
“Shit!” She said rather loudly, she had jabbed her broomstick right into the strangers side when she knocked into them. “I am _so_ sorry.”   
“It’s quite alright.” The stranger said with a faint smile. Robin looked up at him as he was slightly taller and had dirty blond hair and a large pair of glasses resting on his nose. He nodded his head before walking away and before Robin could miss it, she saw a familiar logo on the trunk resting on his cart.  
“Oh my god follow that guy!” She said to her friends, pointing at the stranger she just bumped into. They all saw the familiar Hogwarts logo printed on his chest and rushed after him but made sure not to look like they were stalking him. He stopped in between platforms 9 and 10 and in the blink of an eye he was running straight at the wall. The boy disappeared into the brick leaving the four teens wide eyed and open mouthed.  
“Well I didn’t know it was that easy.” Jordan said while gathering his things.   
All of them prepped their things and one by one they each ran directly towards the brick, shutting their eyes tightly before making impact. Once on the other side they were greeted with a train billowing out steam and students running about. They all started to see their classmates walking around the platform and boarding the train.   
Ilvermorny was the only school joining the Hogwarts Students on the trip to the school, in fact the rest of the students from remaining school would be coming on the thirtieth of October. The Ministry and Congress agreed that it would be proper for the American students to have solid relations with the English ones. It was the first time a mass crossover between Ilvermorny and Hogwarts students has occurred and you could definitely tell by all the reporters lined up at the platform. As they were all loading in their luggage and broomsticks a large group of reporters started shouting.  
“Oh my god it’s her!” One of them shouted.  
“And the Seeker is with her!”  
“We have to get a word, quick rush over!”   
As Robin handed off her broomstick to an attendant she was swarmed by a group of Daily Prophet reporters. She was wide eyed and confused as to why a large group of strangely dressed people were crowding her as she was just trying to board the train. Even worse, they were swarming Jordan and even Lindsey as well. They all started asking tons of questions that she could barely hear as they shoved tape recorders in her face and flashed their cameras at her.  
“How do you feel about having to come to Hogwarts?”  
“Is the Wampus team prepared for the Hogwarts teams?”  
“What’s it like to be a No-Maj born in America?”  
Robin pushed past the group of reporters and took Mara’s hand as she reached out and tried to pull her friends onto the train. Attendants pushed the reporters away from the train and Lindsey glanced down at her watch. The time was 10:55 which thankfully meant the train would be leaving in five minutes. After boarding the train and watched the reporters scurry away from the vehicle, all four of the teens turned around and were met with the disapproving faces of Hogwarts students.  
“Looks like we got ourselves a celebrity.” Someone snickered. Robin’s head shot up and she was met with the handsome face of a boy who had a menacing smile. “I can practically smell the muggle off of her.” His friends laughed and Robin just felt confused.   
“The what?” She asked which caused more laughter from the Hogwarts students. Robin had heard the word muggle before as it was mentioned a few times in The Daily Prophet. But she didn’t know why the boys were laughing at her, and she didn’t know what even made her a muggle.  
“Ilvermorny seats are in the front of the train, _mudblood_.” More laughter erupted throughout the cart and Robin just pushed past the boy and the rest of his friends as the others followed behind her. “And take your puny Keeper with you!” They heard as they tried to find an empty cabin. Jordan scowled and Lindsey looked back at the group of boys, ready to start a fight. Mara had to practically drag her towards the front of the train.   
Robin threw her backpack on the floor of the cabin and slumped down in her seat. They hadn’t even gotten to school yet and she had already been harassed. She pushed up her glasses and started picking at her fingernails as the rest of her friend quietly stowed their things. “Told you they were going to hate us.” She muttered at Mara, who was reading through a potions textbook.  
“Hey!” She said defensively, “This is an amazing opportunity for our studies and we get a chance to compete in the Wizard Cup! Besides, that was one guy not the entire school. I didn’t even see what he looked like!”  
“Mara that was an entire cart full of Witches and Wizards who just laughed at me, and on top of that an entire group of Daily Prophet Reporters just got photos of us! The Daily Prophet is the top news source in all of Wizarding England!” Robin huffed as she flailed her arms around. “Something must of got out about me being Keeper of Wampus team and everyone wants to take a bite out of the No-Maj girl!”  
“She’s right,” Lindsey spoke up, “this is ridiculous. I don’t know what they just called Robin back there but it didn’t sound good. And what makes you think we are entering in the Wizard Cup?” Lindsey asked. Maras face turned into a deep frown and she shut her potions book.  
“What makes you think we _aren’t_ entering in the Wizard Cup?” She asked, sounding almost offended. “This only happens once every five years and is only available to students, this is an opportunity of a lifetime! A chance to celebrate our Wizarding heritage!”  
“I don’t have any Wizarding heritage.” Robin said flatly. She pulled out a book from her backpack and flipped it, “And besides, I’m too busy worrying about Quidditch I don’t have time to think about the tournament.” She said as her eyes stayed on the pages of her book.  
Mara huffed and turned away from her friend. She looked at Lindsey with one of her eyebrows quirked. Lindsey could only roll her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “I’m in the same boat as Robin. Besides, the Wizarding Cup is incredibly dangerous and it seems like the Hogwarts competitors already want our heads.”  
“I thought you were supposed to be the adventurous one, you’re in Thunderbird after all.”  
“Just because I’m in Thunderbird doesn’t mean I am going to jump on every chance of adventure I get. Coming to Hogwarts is an adventure, signing up for the chance to partake in life threatening events is not what I would call an adventure.” Lindsey stated. She folded her arms and slumped down in her seat like Robin. “And don’t even think about asking Jordan, he’s not even old enough.”  
As the ride to Hogwarts went on the tension in the cabin diffused. By the time the four teens arrived at the school they were laughing and joking about memories from the previous year at school. The sky grew dark and someone hollered it was time to get dressed in school uniforms.   
Lindsey opened up one of her bags and pulled out her navy blue cloak with cranberry colored trim. Ilvermorny uniforms were quite relaxed and only consisted of the robes fastened by a golden Gordian Knot. Underneath student were allowed to where whatever they pleased as long as it was appropriate. Mara always looked quite fancy in her robes as underneath she had on traditional Witch robes that were made out of soft velvet and were colored purple. She fit in with the majority of students at Ilvermorny. However even though Lindsey and Jordan were raised by a Witch she raised them in the muggle world. Similar to Robin, they were wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Jordan’s robes were always ironed perfectly with crisp seams while Robin always had a wrinkled robe.  
“We are making our first impressions to the people at Hogwarts and you couldn’t bother to iron your robe?” Mara groaned as they waited for a carriage to board. Robin shrugged her shoulders and tapped her feet on the cobblestone path.  
“At least it’s washed.”  
They boarded a carriage which seemed to be pulled by an invisible creature. A few other classmates road with them and as the carriage took them closer to the school they couldn’t help but marvel. Hogwarts was just as grand as everyone made it out to be. It was an incredible castle and looked twice the size of Ilvermorny. It stood prominently on a cliff face, the windows all lit up with a golden hue, and it was surrounded by a dense forest. Despite the fact she was looking at an incredibly view, Lindsey could still feel her stomach churning. When she looked over at Robin she knew her friend was feeling the same as she had a white knuckled grip on her backpack.  
“How the hell are we supposed to find our way to class in their?” Jordan asked, trying to diffuse the tension. Lindsey smirked at her brothers comment and stayed focused at the monstrous castle standing before her. The carriage ride halted and the dreaded moment came when everyone had to make their way into the castle.  
The inside of the castle was an absolute frenzy. Ilvermorny students were sort of just standing in the main entrance of Hogwarts as professors tried to direct them where to go. Hushed voices of Hogwarts students could be heard mocking the Ilvermorny students and Lindsey could feel her hands growing clammy. Apparently before festivities could begin, Ilvermorny students had to collect their animals as no one knew what animal belonged to who.  
“Oh thank god!” Mara said excitedly as she handed in the slip that identified her pet. She gleefully took ahold of her cats carrier and unlatched it so she could take her pet out of its confine. Angus greeted her with a loud meow and his jet black fur stood out against her navy blue robes.   
Lindsey, Jordan, and Robin headed over to the owl section so they could greet their pets. Each of them quickly handed off their slips to a professor and was soon handed their cages with their owls perched restlessly inside. Before they could unlatch the locks on the cages someone yelled that students must keep their pets inside their cages to avoid cats, toads, and owls making a mess of the main entrance of Hogwarts. Robin stuck her finger through the bar so she could give her owl Don a few pets before she had to hand him off to a professor so he could be taken to the owlery.   
Everyone was told to get into neat lines and as students scurried into place, two large doors opened in front of them. The grand hall of Hogwarts was revealed and as the Ilvermorny students walked inside they were left awestruck once again. Candles floated about through the air and the ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky. Hogwarts students sat quietly with their houses at separate tables, each of them wearing identical clothing to one another accented by their appropriate house colors. At the end of the hall was a grand stained glass window as well as professors lined up next to each other, in the center was Minerva Mcgonagall herself, the Headmistress of Hogwarts.  
“Welcome, Ilvermorny students.” She said loudly while standing at the front podium. All the students stopped walking and listened intently to what she was going to say. “We are honored to be welcoming you to your first trip to Hogwarts where we hope you will have a wonderful stay and learn lots. In our effort to help you feel as welcome as possible we are allowing you to char dormitories with our Hogwarts students.” A faint groan emitted from several student rolled amongst the crowd. Lindsey looked at Robin who was rolling her eyes.   
“Silence!” Mcgonagall spoke sharply. The hall became deadly silent once again and she continued on with her welcome speech. “You will find that similar to your own school Hogwarts has four houses as well. For this school year we have teamed you up with a Hogwarts house where you will dorm and eat your meals with. Pukwudgie shall be with Hufflepuffs, Horned Serpents with Ravenclaws, Thunderbirds with Gryffindors, and finally Wampus will be with Slytherin.”  
There was a slight pause until all the Ilvermorny students realized this was their cue to sit down with their assigned housing partners. Mara looked back at her friends with wide eyes as she moved all the way across the hall to sit with the Ravenclaws. Jordan was glued to Robin’s side as the found the house with the green and silver colors. Luckily, Gryffindor and Slytherin tables were next to one another so all Robin and Lindsey had to do to speak to one another was lean back on their benches. Mara was all the way across the room and could no longer be seen.   
When Lindsey sat down at the Gryffindor table she did not expect to be met with a sight so handsome yet so hideous. The boy on the train who was rude to Robin was sitting directly across from her wearing the red and gold colors proud on his chest. He took one look at Lindsey, scoffed, and nudges one of his friends. She rolled her eyes and looked back at Robin and her brother. Robin and Jordan on the other hand realized they were sitting at the same table as another familiar face. Robin looked across from her and saw the same dirty blond hair and glasses as the stranger she bumped into at the train station. He rose his eyebrows and gave her a nod, she nodded back.  
“We are delighted to have you stay with us. I’m sure most of our students are excited that you brought two of your Quidditch teams with you as well!” A couple ‘boos’ were heard amongst the students and Mcgonagall chose to ignore them and carried on with her speech.  
The thought of Quidditch made Robin feel sick. Yes, she was the Keeper for Wampus team and Lindsey was Keeper for Thunderbird team. Ilvermorny was only able to bring two teams over for Quidditch as only sixth and seventh year students were eligible to study a year abroad. Wampus and Thunderbird were the only teams with all members being in the allowed years, and thus the Quidditch tournament that excited all the students was born. Robin heard the majority of the Hogwarts teams were good, incredibly good, which made her nervous. Jordan was especially intimidated as he was the Wampus keeper, but Robin had faith that he would pull through. Quidditch practice would start in a week so everyone could get settled in and Robin dreaded it.  
Headmistress Mcgonagall said a few more words and with a wave of her hand large quantities of food appeared. Ilvermorny had a welcoming feast similar to this but as the teens looked around at the table some of the foods were foreign to them. Instead the just picked things they recognized and for a brief moment they forgot about how everyone seemed to hate them. Lindsey ate quietly, occasionally glancing up at the boy sitting across from her as he would catch eyes with her every once and a while and the same menacing smile flashed on his face. She felt her blood boil and thought he had the dumbest looking face to ever exist. Lindsey looked behind her and gave a reassuring smile at her brother who seemed to look nervous.  
“I’m Pendleton by the way, I believe we bumped into one another at the train station.” The boy with the dirty blond hair and glasses said. His voice was deep and had a thick British accent which was something Robin was still getting used to. He stuck his hand out and she shook it firmly while smiling.  
“Yeah, sorry about that.” She mumbled while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. All she wanted to do was lay down and cry, the day was going horribly and now she had to make conversation with a cute boy.  
“What’s your house again? I can’t quite remember all the names and their meanings. Pendleton said as he pushed the food around on his plate.  
“Wampus,” Jordan said as he stuck out his hand at the boy across from him, “which is named after the magical creature of the Wampus. A panther-like animal that is extremely hard to kill. Wampus house chooses warriors.” He explained while Pendleton shook his hand. “I’m Jordan Ottle and she’s Robin Stuart.”  
“Oh so _you’re_ the famed Robin Stuart.”  
“That’s the second time someone has said I’m famous and I don’t know why. Are their rumors or something?”  
“Nope,” Pendleton said with a smirk, “word just got out about the two Keepers and Captains of the Ilvermorny teams and all the Purebloods in Britain were up in arms about one of the being a Half-Blood and the other being Muggle born.”  
“Oh.” Robin said with gritted teeth. She was starting to figure out what muggle meant but she was too afraid to ask for a full explanation. Not only did Hogwarts hate her but so did every Pureblood in the country.  
“I find the whole thing rather ludacris if you ask me.” Pendleton whispered. He was leaning across the table so Robin and Jordan could hear him clearly. “As a Pureblood myself I don’t get the big deal. Magic is magic, you have it or you don’t. Doesn’t matter what blood runs through your veins because people have proven to surpass expectations.”  
“Thanks.” Robin mumbled. She felt slightly better about the whole situation now that she knew at least one person didn’t want to kick her out of the school but she still found the whole situation uneasy. “Well I don’t see the big deal about it either. I’m not _that_ great of a Keeper anyways. Jordan is a talented Seeker maybe they should be talking about him.”  
“That’s a lie and you know it.” Jordan said flatly.   
“From what I’ve heard you’re pretty good actually.” Pendleton said with a smile. “Maybe I’ll see it myself, you’re talking to the Slytherin Keeper after all.”  
Robin looked at Pendleton in his very blue eyes and smiled for the first time since she arrived at Hogwarts.

+++

Mara followed the Ravenclaw Prefect who was leading the house up to the dormitories. She followed close behind as they climbed the stairs and ventured across the castle so they could reach the secluded dormitories located in a private tower west of the castle. When they reached the wooden door with the bronze eagle knocker on the front, the bird came to life and asked the Prefect a riddle. He answered it quickly and ushered everyone inside, explaining that every time you wished to enter the dormitories you had to answer the riddle the eagle asked.   
The door lead straight into the common room, a circular room with open airy space and a stunning view of the mountains. Mara though it was breathtaking and could already picture herself studying on the cushioned couches surrounded by bookshelves. She followed the girls up to where their room was located and was lead into another, smaller circular room with four post beds with the headboards against the walls. The bedding was a deep blue and made out of smooth, soft fabric.   
Mara found her trunk next to the bed farthest from the door and she rushed over so she could let Angus out of his cage. The cat leaped into her arms and she listened to it purr loudly. She opened her trunk on the chair next to the bed and got her things situated. After setting Angus on the bed so he could get comfortable she rummaged through her things, not noticing the person that walked through the door.   
“What’s the cats name?” A voice asked. Mara turned her head to see a girl her age sitting on the bed next to hers. She had long black hair and tanned skin, complemented by light hazel eyes.   
“Angus.” Mara said as she scratched the black cats chin. The girl smiled and pulled a small Calico Kitten out from behind her back. Mara smiled widely and reached out to pet the small animal who was jumping around on her bed.   
“This is Carson, try not to mind him he’s still a kitten and enjoys biting ankles sometimes.” She said as she pet his fur lightly. “I’m Stephanie, and I presume you’re one of the Ilvermorny students?” Mara nodded her head.  
“You’re like the nicest person I’ve met here all day.”  
“Thanks, although I feel like it shouldn’t be a compliment. Everyone should be nice to you guys. In my opinion, education is education and all magic schools are the same. No school is better than the other so why act like one is?”  
Mara smiled. She knew that she had found a pretty good friend already.


	2. Part Two

The air was slightly chilly the next morning when classes would officially be starting. It was almost impossible for Robin to get any sleep in the Slytherin dorm rooms as the bed felt foreign and she was in a room full of people she didn’t know. Luckily the Slytherin students seemed to be rather friendly but at the same time it felt like she was a first year all over again. The new school, the unfamiliar faces, and worst of all, the feeling that she didn’t fit in like everyone else.   
She left the dorms early after throwing on a pair of ripped jeans and a t-shirt underneath her Ilvermorny robes. Upon entry it seemed like the Slytherin common room was empty until she glanced down at one of the sofas and saw Jordan reading over his class schedule. Robins breath hitched as he scared her half to death and Jordan nearly fell off the sofa as he thought his friend was another Hogwarts student.  
“How long have you been up?” Robin whispered as she adjusted the backpack strap resting on her shoulder.  
“For like an hour. How long have you been up?” Jordan whispered back.  
“About the same.”  
They stood there in an awkward silence for a moment until Robin asked if Jordan wanted to go to the owlery with her before breakfast. He nodded his head enthusiastically before grabbing the remainder of his things and shoving them into his backpack, except his wand which he tucked into the holster attached to his belt. As the two of them walked out of the common room they didn’t seem to notice Pendleton standing in the doorway of the stairs leading up to the boys dormitories. He had woken up when he heard someone walking around in the common room below and when he checked to see what the noise was, he didn’t expect to see the two Wampus students he had met the night before standing in the common room. The two of them left in a hurry before he could wish them a good morning and after they left Pendleton hoped he would see them at breakfast in a few hours.  
The owlery was located in the top of the West Tower at Hogwarts where the windows had no glass and a winding staircase filled the room. Each owl had its own individual nook in the wall and hay was all over the floor next to a water basin that never seemed to be empty. It seemed like the owlery was a but cramped this year with all the extra birds but as Robin and Jordan ascended the stairs they were greeted with cheerful chirps and hoots. It didn’t take long for the two teens to find their owls as Don and Beatrice were perched next to one another.  
Beatrice greeted Jordan by trying to bite his finger and prodding at the golden knot tying his robes together. “Jesus Christ Beatrice calm down!” Jordan said as he avoided the Horned Owl’s sharp beak.   
Don was rather happy to see Robin and he flew up to perch himself on her shoulder. As he nuzzled his head into her neck she pet his feathers and scratched the underside of his head. Don was a rather affectionate owl and was rather small considering he was a Barn Owl. Robin always loved that though, he was the perfect size to stay perched on her shoulder and was still strong enough to deliver packages. Although, she didn’t really know what he would deliver this year considering she was halfway across the world and her parents were in New York.  
The two Wampus students stayed in the owlery for about an hour as they hung out with each other and their pets and occasionally feeding Don and Beatrice a few mice Jordan had brought while giving them affection. Afterwards they brushed off all the hay and feathers before going back down the stairs so they could attend breakfast in the Great Hall. Hogwarts was rather confusing but luckily they made it to breakfast three minutes before it officially began.   
The hall was already crowded with students trying to find a place to sit at their assigned tables and Robin tried pushing past as many Hogwarts students as she could without getting noticed. Unfortunately she ended up smacking into someone, a habit she was apparently picking up, and when she stepped back to see who it was she rolled her eyes and flicked a piece of her hair out of her face.   
“I hope you fly as good as you walk Stuart.”   
It was the same guy from the train who was apparently a Gryffindor student.   
“You don’t get to give me a nickname you dick, now get out of my way.” She huffed before trying to push past the guy. He only stepped in her way and made the situation much more infuriating. Meanwhile Jordan was already sitting down at the Slytherin table wondering where the hell Robin was.  
“I hope you know when we finally compete in a few weeks Gryffindor will certainly beat your mockery of a Quidditch team.” He sneered.  
“From what I’ve heard we’re pretty good, now if you would please excuse me-”  
The second Robin put her hand on the boys arm so she could wedge past him he let out a large shout before grabbing her wrist with a death grip and leaned forward so he was all up in Robins face.  
“Get your disgusting hands off me you mudblood.” He spat. Robin looked him straight in the eyes as she wasn’t afraid of this guy more so pissed off. She scowled and ripped her wrist out of his hand before he could hold it any longer.  
“Is there a problem?” Someone asked firmly. Robin turned to see Pendleton standing behind her. He glanced down at Robin for a brief moment before returning his attention to the Gryffindor student standing in front of them. The guy just huffed, straightened his sweater, and stomped back to his table and left Robin and Pendleton standing in the back of the Great Hall. Breakfast had just begun and student were eating cheerfully and talking about class schedules. “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah I’m fine. Who is that guy?”  
“No one you should worry about. Before I came over here Jordan said he saw some guy giving you trouble back here and the same guy gave you trouble on the train yesterday. Are you sure you’re fine?” Pendleton had worried eyes but Robin just nodded and murmured in response. “Well like I said, don’t let him worry you. He’s always been a prat.”  
They sat down at the table and Robin ended up picking at her food while Jordan spoke excitedly about the classes he would be taking. He noticed how exams were different at Hogwarts, they took their N.E.W.T.s during their seventh year rather than their sixth which meant he had to ask a professor about what he would do for exams at school that year.  
“If you take your N.E.W.T.s during your sixth year then what’s the point of your seventh year at Ilvermorny? N.E.W.T.s are the very final exams you take before finding a job.” Pendleton inquired.  
“You still might have to take them your seventh year depending on how many you took the year before and what subjects they were on. Sixth years take the general subject exams and during your seventh year you can kind of figure out what job you’d like to have and you take exams on more elective driven classes.” Robin explained as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand.  
“But on your schedule it says you’re taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, haven’t you already technically passed that class?”   
“Yeah basically, but Hogwarts administrators said I needed to take an extra class to fulfill the minimum number of credits for the year and I’m good at DADA. Besides, I heard your curriculum is a little different than ours, different things to learn about because we’re in a different region.”  
“What profession are you planning on having?” Pendleton asked, sounding confused by the academic differences of the two schools.   
“Curse Breaker for MACUSA. They are on a huge shortage at the moment.” Pendleton raised his eyebrows in surprise but Robin continued to pick at her food. She was not excited for her school day even though her classes were relatively easy. All she was taking this year was Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care for Magical Creatures, Astronomy, as well as Dark Arts Studies, a course that was offered at Ilvermorny and was brought over to Hogwarts as an elective. The only classes she actually cared about were Dark Arts Studies and DADA as they were relatively essential for the Cursebreaker profession. Luckily being the Quidditch captain and being a transfer student allowed her to be excused from taking too many excessive classes.  
“Oh look, we have all the Dark Arts classes together.” Pendleton said as he pointed to Robins schedule with the back of his spoon. Jordan looked at Robins schedule and back at his before letting out a loud groan.  
“I can’t believe you aren’t taking any classes with me. Advanced Potion Making is going to destroy me.”

+++

It was the first period of the day and Mara awaited nervously in her assigned room for Advanced Potion Making. She had arrived early for the class and greeted the professor with a wide smile and enthusiastic greeting. After her conversation the night before with Stephanie she was starting to feel exactly like she did the night before she arrived at Hogwarts. The castle was honestly amazing and so far everyone had been quite nice, the exception was the boy on the train but she didn’t even see his face nor did it matter. She was able to see Lindsey before breakfast and the only time she saw Robin was when she caught a glimpse of her friend leaving the dining hall in a huffy manner. Lindsey said she had Care for Magical Creatures with Robin second period so she would see what happened. Mara just figured her friend was still overreacting about being at Hogwarts.   
Professor Slughorn greeted all the students excitedly as they walked into his classroom and Mara stood at her bench, fiddling with her wand. She noticed how the class was mostly Hogwarts students, most kids at Ilvermorny hated taking Potions Class but Mara found she was incredibly good at it. Even though she was planning on becoming a Defense Lawyer for MACUSA potions was always an interesting subject as there was a potion for almost any situation.  
“What’s it made out of?” Mara was brought back to reality when she heard someone ask her a question. She looked to her right and saw the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. His eyes were a deep brown and his head consisted of wavy chestnut hair that was styled perfectly and had a wonderful shine. The button up shirt he was wearing under his sweater had a crisp collar and his slacks were creased to perfection. He was smiling at her and his eye crinkled at the sides as he showed off straight white teeth. Mara instantly blushed and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, refusing to look back up at the boy.   
“My apologies,” He said with the same boyish smile on his face paired with an amazing bone structure, “I’m Terrance and I couldn’t help but notice you were fiddling with your wand. You see, I’m sort of interested in wands and yours is quite beautiful from the looks of it.” Terrance stuck out his hand and Mara shook it firmly before placing her wand on the table so he could get a better look.   
“It’s pear wood with a unicorn hair core. Before it was mine it was my great grandfathers, my family has a tradition of passing down wands and I was rather lucky to receive this one.” Mara explained. The two teens admired the nicely carved handle of the wand and the golden toned wood with the lacquer that still remained shiny despite how old it was.  
“Pear wood is supposed to stay new no matter how many years pass, as well as pure. It also means the users are popular but I guess in this case it could also mean the user was beautiful.” Terrance glanced up at Mara who was blushing like crazy. He placed his own wand on the table.  
“Mine’s ebony and has a unicorn hair core as well.”  
“It’s lovely.” Mara said, gasping at how wonderful the dark wood looked. It had a simple design but was beautiful nonetheless.   
“My family also has tradition of passing wands down. I didn’t know Americans did that but I guess you learn something new every day.”  
Mara smiled at the boy and told him her name. He just gave an award winning smile back at her and potions class began.

+++

Care for Magical Creatures class was outside for the day and the groundskeeper, a tall man with a large beard whose name was Hagrid, walked the class to the edge of the forest. “I thought this place was supposed to be forbidden.” Lindsey murmured to Robin as the followed the rest of their classmates off campus and wandered through the lush grass of the grounds. Both had ditched their robes in the classroom as it was technically still summer and if they were meeting an animal large in size neither wanted the weight of a cloak dragging them down. It was a nice day anyways and the sun was beating down.   
Hagrid explained that to make the Ilvermorny students feel a little more at home he would be showing off an animal native to North America this class. They continued the trek to the edge of the forest and once the arrived people stood in a line waiting as Hagrid let out a loud whistle. A loud cawing noise came from the trees and students realised it was a bird he would be showing off. He held out his arm and soon a rather large pale blue and white bird came flying down from the trees.  
It was a Snallygaster. A bird native to North America and was endangered because it would constantly come on contact with muggles and was killed out of fear. When provoked, it used its fangs made out of serrated steel to defend itself which was enough to make muggle fear the strange bird. MACUSA had to deal with Snallygasters regularly but attacks were becoming less frequent as most were put in captivity.   
Lindsey was quite excited to see the Snallygaster despite the fact she had actually seen quite a few before. They were one of her mothers favorite magical creature and when Lindsey turned thirteen her mother took her to visit an enclosure for the bird. She admired how it had feathers and scales at the same time, it was a hybrid of possibly a vulture and some kind of reptile, and Hagrid pet it gently which made it squawk loudly. Most students backed away in fear from the steel teeth but Lindsey smiled at the large bird.   
Hagrid let the bird fly to a tree where it perched itself on a large branch. He started giving the background of the bird and the students scribbled down the information in their notes. As the other students wrote Robin looked up and realized the Hogwarts students were writing on large sheets of parchment and using quills or fountain pens. She glanced down at the mechanical pencil and composition book she was using. Lindsey was using the same sort of stuff as her but she was writing down her notes quickly without looking at everyone around her. Most of the Ilvermorny students used No-Maj technology as it was convenient but Robin didn’t realize Hogwarts was stuck in the dark ages.  
“What happened this morning during breakfast? Mara said you looked upset.” Lindsey asked as they walked back to the castle. Robin just shrugged, already putting breakfasts events behind her. Pendleton was right, there was no use worrying about someone who didn’t deserve her time.  
“Nothing much really, the same guy who gave me grief on the train did it again this morning.”  
“Ew that guy? I sat across him from dinner last night. Honestly I’m not surprised because of course _I_ would be the one who ends up dorming with that asshole. I don’t even know his name but I hate him.”   
Robin nodded in agreement but decided to not push the subject any further knowing Lindsey was always down to fight anyone who disrespected her friends. She couldn’t have her friend too riled up before their next class. Once they got inside the building both girls put their robes back on and grabbed their things before heading to their next classes. Lindsey went to her Transfiguration class which she was excited about as Headmistress McGonagall herself lead the class. Robin went down the stairs to the Dark Arts rooms as that would be where she would spend the next few hours of her day.

+++

For the next few days classes went rather smoothly. The four teens settled into the rhythm of things and most of them started to ease up a little. Lindsey was no longer threatening to fight the nasty Gryffindor boy, Jordan became less stressed about his classes, and Robin started to ease up on the other students and was growing a little close to Pendleton as they spent their time in Dark Arts with one another. Mara stayed happy as usual and during all the moments she had with her friends she spoke all about the boy in her potions class but still was too shy to share his name. Robin was happy Mara had found a nice boy to crush on as the year before her heart was broken by a boy a grade ahead of them.  
However it was the dreaded week of Quidditch practice and Robin awoke early Saturday morning to prepare for practice. She tried to get in as much broom time as she could, occasionally she would head to deserted areas of Central Park in the middle of the night just for some flight time over the summer, but a part of her still felt unsure about the upcoming season. A lot of talk was thrown around about the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams in particular and she was nervous it would cause a divide between her and Pendleton. He constantly assured her that whatever happened on the Quidditch field would stay on the field and he wasn’t a sore loser like other team captains were, Robin hoped he meant what he said.   
Her team would have the field for a few hours before breakfast every Saturday and in a month the awaited tournament would begin. She got a glance at the bracket this year, the first game to kick off the season would be Gryffindor vs Wampus which made her eyes roll, of course it had to be her team playing first. Robin got dressed in her Quidditch gear which was a navy long sleeve shirt with cranberry colored trim around the collar, black pants, and a baseball cap that had her house logo neatly stitched in gold thread on the front. On her shins were black leather shin guards and a leather padded vest rested across her chest to signify she was the keeper and resting atop her hat were a pair of goggles. Before she headed down to the common room to meet with her teammates she had to put in her contacts, an event that took her ten minutes and made here eyes red. When she saw Jordan waiting for her downstairs his eyes looked about like hers as he wore glasses as well. After saying a few words to her teammates and gave them the game plan for practice they all grabbed their broomsticks and walked upstairs to the courtyard so they could fly out to the Quidditch field.   
Robin rather enjoyed flying on her broomstick. She hadn’t been able to sneak out to Central Park as often as she liked and even when she could she couldn’t use her Nimbus to its full potential. She flew quickly in front of her teammates, leading them to the Quidditch Pitch off campus and once she was settled in front of the highest hoop she placed her goggles over her eyes.  
The team started off with a few exercises to get warmed up and let some of the others get in a bit of practice before trying to do some goal shooting. All of them sped off on their broomsticks acting as chasers, passing the ball between one another and getting used to being up in the air. After a while the goal practice started and the bludgers were thrown into the air as well so the Beaters would get some much needed practice in. Jordan was already chasing the golden snitch around as each of the chasers tried to throw the quaffle into one of the three hoops. Robin kicked, caught, or punched the ball with ease, protecting the hoops as well as she could. She gave pointers to her teammate as well so when they really started playing against other teams they were able to score points. Three hours ended up going by quickly and just as Jordan caught the snitch the others were packing up the rest of the balls and flew towards the school for breakfast.  
Hogwarts students not only had very different uniforms but it seemed like their Quidditch attire was different as well. The Slytherin team was set to have the field after breakfast and when Robin sat down across from Pendleton she noted the differences in their uniforms. Hogwarts had a thing for robes as it seemed because Pendleton was dressed in a dark green hooded robe with a green and silver sweater underneath. He also wore light khaki pants with brown leather pads on his body which made his Quidditch uniform look much fancier. Robin dismissed this difference as she realised with her uniform she most likely had much more comfort and flexibility.  
Across the room Mara was chatting with Stephanie excitedly as the two of them spoke about herbology class. Occasionally she would glance up from her food and stray away from Stephanie's conversation to look at Terrance who was sitting across the hall. He sat with his friends at the table, chatting and laughing about things with that beautiful smile of his. Sometimes he would even look back at her, smile a little wider, and shoot her a wink. Mara could only blush  
But her attention drifted further across the room and she noticed Lindsey sitting with her Quidditch team. All of them were dressed in their appropriate sporting clothes and seemed to be going over something that most likely related to the game. As team captain, Lindsey looked strong and determined as she went over something with the Chasers on her team. Alexios, her second in command and head Chaser nodded along to what she said, paying attention to every word with tight lips and a focused face. Mara always liked how Lindsey could demand the attention in any space and be so firm in her words.   
Past Lindsey was Robin and Jordan who sat at the Slytherin table across from a boy who always seemed to be walking or talking with the two of them. She noticed how he would always pay attention to whatever Robin said and looked at her in a sort of, way, that Mara couldn’t quite place a finger on. His blue eyes were striking underneath the glasses he wore and he looked powerful in his Quidditch gear. Mara hadn’t been able to speak to her Wampus friends as much as she would’ve liked to but she made a mental note that they had to get together when trips to Hogsmeade began.  
“So, are you thinking about putting your name in?”   
Lindsey was walking to the Gryffindor dormitories with the rest of her team where they planned to grab their gear before heading out to the Quidditch pitch. They would have to share the field with the Slytherin students but from what Robin had told her, it shouldn't be a big deal. She was upset that she forgot to snag the timeslot before breakfast that way her team would have practiced with people they were familiar with. She looked back at who had asked the question, it was Alexios, her head Chaser for the team. She could only roll her eyes which made Alexios smile and nudge her with his elbow.  
“Cmon Lindsey, we’re Thunderbirds! We’re supposed to be adventurous and step outside our comfort zones. I’m pretty sure every other seventeen year old from Ilvermorny will be entering except you.” He chided.  
“Robin isn’t entering.” Lindsey said like it was some big observation. Alexios rolled his eyes dramatically.   
“Well _of course_ Robin isn’t entering, she doesn’t give a shit about Wizard tradition.”  
“Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.”  
“It’s _not_ a bad thing, she just doesn’t have that many ties to the Wizarding World like the majority of us do, but you do. I really thought you would think about at least putting your name in the Goblet of Fire. You’re as Thunderbird as Thunderbird gets dude.”  
Lindsey huffed and looked up at Alexios.  
“Fine,” she said begrudgingly, “I’ll consider.”  
Alexios cheered along with the rest of the Quidditch team but it didn’t last long as Lindsey made the team run to the Quidditch pitch rather than fly out on their brooms.


	3. Part Three

It was eerily quiet when Jordan woke up the morning of the first Quidditch match of the year. The other Slytherin and Ilvermorny students he shared a room with were still sleeping in their beds peacefully while he laid awake, staring at the canopy hanging over his four post bed. He checked his watch and noted it was nearly seven o’clock in the morning and the game was to happen in four hours which gave him time to shake the anxiety building inside his stomach. Jordan reached under his pillow and grabbed his wand which laid underneath. He fiddled with the sharp tip and admired its simple design using the small amount of light streaming in through the curtains. It was made of Rowan wood with a Jackalope Antler core. The pale wood at a vertical grain and was perfectly smooth to the touch, nothing extravagant but he liked that. After a few more minutes of laying in bed and contemplating things Jordan snatched his glasses resting on the table beside his bed and left the room quietly.  
As he descended the staircase leading to the common room he overheard voices speaking to one another in hushed tones. He peaked his head through the doorway and saw Robin and Pendleton sitting next to one another on the couch in front of the fireplace. They sat on opposite ends with their backs resting on the arms of the couch, their heads towards one another. Robin looked stretched out and comfortable while Pendleton had his knees pulled up to his chest, eye peeking over his pjs. Jordan smiled, happy to see that robin was becoming more comfortable at Hogwarts but deep down he knew that she was probably just as nervous about the days events as he was.  
He joined the two of them in the common room, sitting on a couch beside them, and Robin greeted him with a smile and Pendleton waved. She assured him that the game was going to go great as the team had been training like crazy for the season. Robin had watched a few of the Gryffindors practices in secret and saw what they were made out of. “They rely too much on their Seeker and think he’ll get the Snitch the fastest when in reality they should rely on their Keeper, and their Keeper is trash. So just worry about getting the snitch, we will take care of the rest because the Seeker is good but I know you’re better.” Robin explained to Jordan. He still felt nervous but the fact that Robin thought he was good enough to beat the other Seeker gave him a little more confidence.  
At breakfast Lindsey joined them, something she was doing often as she couldn’t find any Gryffindors she was fond of, and she forced her brother to eat because if he didn’t he would get too tired during the game. “I feel like I’m going to vomit Lindsey.” Jordan said between bites of toast. She just shushed him and put scrambled eggs on his plate for protein.  
Jordan and Robin were in their Quidditch uniforms only this time they weren’t wearing their practice shirts but their game shirts. They looked the same but just had their house logo stitched on the shoulders in the same gold thread as their hats and on the left breast was their number. Jordan was number eight while Robin was number 19. Both Lindsey and Pendleton were also showing off some Wampus pride for the exciting Quidditch game. Lindsey had on a worn, cranberry colored shirt that had the Wampus cat printed on the front. It was previously belonged to her brother who outgrew it a few summers ago. Pendleton on the other hand wore a navy colored hat just like the ones Robin and Jordan wore, just newer and not nearly as beat up as Robins was. Shortly after classes had started he managed to meet Mara, the other close friend of Robin, and she happily stitched a hat for him so he could root for his friends.  
“You know Stephanie?” Lindsey asked as she finished up the food on her plate. Robin merely nodded and drank the rest of her juice.  
“Yeah we met a while back, dark hair and has the kitten right?”  
Lindsey nodded.  
“Why?”  
“She came up to me before breakfast and said Mara came down with a nasty stomach bug, something to do with one of the potions she was studying going wrong. Apparently she’s held up in her room spewing chunks and crying about not being able to come to the match today.”  
Robin winced at Lindsey's description. “That fucking sucks dude,” she said sounding dismayed, “she loves coming to our games. Guess we’ll have to try and swing by later, maybe drop off some soup.”  
Lindsey nodded and soon breakfast was over. They stopped by their respected dorm rooms for a few minutes just to grab the remainder of their things and brush their teeth before heading off to the Quidditch pitch. Robin strapped on her keepers padding with the help of Jordan, tightened her shoelaces, and double checked that her wand was in the holster strapped to her belt and thigh. Not that she would even need her wand at a Quidditch match but it always felt so wrong to leave it behind. As she walked through the corridors holding her broomstick, her team trailing behind her, she put on her goggles and flew off to the field.  
Before the game started they all stood in a tent at the bottom of the field. Robin explained that the Gryffindor team was very aggressive so defense needed to be strong. The ultimate goal would be to get the ball first and never lose sight of it as their Seeker seemed to be pretty strong. “But if he catches that Snitch it’s only one hundred and fifty points that they receive, their keeper is weak and if we are able to score more points than them in the long run then we could still win. That’s our plan but I think our Keeper will probably beat theirs anyways.” She looked over at Jordan and gave him a quick wink to boost his confidence.  
Someone over the megaphone started riling up the crowd outside. One of the Chasers took a peak to look at the stands and reported that they were absolutely stuffed with students. The Gryffindor team was called out which made the Wampus team get ready with their brooms. They watched as the red and gold team flew around the stadium, the crowd cheering them on wildly. However you could still hear the loud and aggressive booing coming from the Ilvermorny students, even though they were outnumbered they were still very much heard. Jordan stood next to Robin as he was the Seeker and she was the Keeper, their team was called out and going out in pairs they zoomed out of the tent, almost knocking it over.  
As they flew around the stadium they were mocked and booed by the majority of the students but the cheers of the Ilvermorny students were also heard. Robin managed to spot Lindsey and Pendleton in the crowd as they stood with all the other Slytherin students. She was surprised to see that the Slytherin house had traded out their normal green and silver colors for navy and cranberry ones. She flew low and zoomed over the top of them on her broom, earning her a large cheer from the students.  
Robin took her place in front of the three hoops and adjusted her position on her broom, hooking her feet onto the footrests of the broomstick. She watched as the Chasers got into position and the Beaters firmly gripped their bats. Bludgers flew up into the air and she caught the familiar gleam of the Golden Snitch which whizzed by her right ear. Jordan sat on her broom farther out from the others and Robin looked at the Gryffindor Seeker. She had only briefly seen him while standing on the ground and he flew overhead so this was the first chance she got a good look at him. Robin was in absolute horror as she realized who it was.  
It was the boy from the train, the boy who grabbed her wrist during breakfast, and now the boy from the Gryffindor Quidditch team who happened to be the Seeker.  
She had forgotten about his snide remarks until that moment and she finally put together what he had said. _I hope you know when we finally compete in a few weeks Gryffindor will certainly beat your mockery of a Quidditch team._ Robin cursed herself for being so stupid and not realized that of course this fucker was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.  
But she couldn’t curse herself for much longer as the Quaffle was thrown into the air and one of her Chasers caught it. Robin watched as her teammates zoomed across the far side of the field, dodging Bludgers and Gryffindor players, as she moved skillfully. Wampus scored the first points of the game but Robin didn’t let it get to her head as the players moved in her direction. In a flash she skillfully defended the lower hoop by giving the Quaffle a powerful kick that launched it across the field and into the hands of a Wampus player.  
Jordan sat atop his broom and after the snitch was released he made sure to keep a close eye on it. When the game officially started he zoomed across the field and avoided the other players as he followed the tiny gold ball. It started weaving through the stands and he flew low and close to the stands where the students watched the riveting game. He had blocked out the sounds of the players scoring points and only focused on the Golden Snitch as well as the Gryffindor Seeker who was hot on his trail.  
To Jordan's dismay he had figured out who the opposing Seeker was at the same time Robin did. While he didn’t know the urchins name he did know his team number which was number five and was printed largely on the back of his Quidditch robes. Five was close behind him as Jordan followed the Snitch and he ended up quickly diverting his path by flying down in the support beams just so the Seeker would get confused. Through the lenses of his goggles Jordan saw the Seeker get thrown off but he also saw the Snitch zipping about through the air so he flew back up, nearly knocking Five off his broom, and zoomed after the Snitch.  
The game went on and soon Wampus was beating Gryffindor by sixty points. The only times Robin hadn’t been able to protect the hoops was when a bludger was coming straight towards her or another one of the Chasers flew too close to her, nearly knocking her off her broom. However she had managed to block the majority of Gryffindors attempted goals by either kicking or punching the Quaffle away from the hoops. Her knuckles were becoming quite bruised as she didn’t have any gloves to wear. In fact, her right hand was already starting to bleed through the cracked and battered skin on her hand.  
Jordan was completely in the zone staying ahead of Five as the two of them chased after the Snitch. As the ball gained speed so did he and he was finger lengths away from grabbed it out of the air. Five rammed into his side but he pushed the older Seeker away, focusing on the ball. He paid no attention to what was going on in the stadium and didn’t even know if Wampus was winning or not, all Jordan could think about was the Snitch. He focused, honed all his senses in on the gold ball, and as he soared high into the air he watched as his hand brushed against the wind of the Snitch.  
He clamped his hand down tight and felt the Snitch struggle against his palm but he kept his hand on the wing. Eventually, he balled his fist so tight the struggling wing of the Snitch stopped and he was able to fully grasp on to the ball. Jordan held the ball up in the air and the crowd erupted as the whistle blew to signal the game was over. Robin looked at her friend across the field as he held the Snitch that now had a mangled wing. She smiled and cheered on the rest of her team as the announcer screamed through the intercom that Wampus had won the first Quidditch match of the season.  
But festivities were cut short when Robin felt a body collide into her, knocking her off her broom and made her fall from the height of the highest Quidditch hoop. As she fell her arms moved wildly and she managed to grab on to one of the footrests of her broom. Lindsey and Pendleton watched in horror as their friend fell through the air and the only thing slowing her down was her broomstick, desperately trying to remain in flight. Eventually, Robin hit the sand around the Quidditch hoops in a loud thud and as she hit the ground the metal footrest of her broom collided with her face. She heard a loud pop and felt immediate pain and discomfort in her whole face.  
Robin had landed on her side and she flipped onto her back, feeling the sun beat down on her skin and the shouting from the stands had become muffled. After about thirty seconds she got on her hands and knees and shakily stood up. She felt her face and felt something sticky and warm on her hand, it was blood and she got a sudden urge to start coughing. Robin coughed up the blood that was trying to find its way down her throat which she spit onto the white sand of the Quidditch pitch. She continued to spit and soon the pristine white sand was littered in crimson stains all coming from Robin. She touched her nose and pulled away quickly after letting out a sharp exhale and realized it was broken. However to her luck her broomstick was left unscathed.  
“Look at me you filthy mudblood!” Someone screamed at her. Robin removed her goggles which were cracked on one side and looked across the field. It was the Gryffindor Seeker who was sprinting towards her with his wand out. “You might be able to beat me at Quidditch with your pathetic excuse for a team but I doubt you’ll be able to beat me at anything else!”  
Loud shouts and cries were heard from the stands as the boy stood a few feet away from Robin, his hand firmly in his hand and a maniacal expression on his face. Robin ripped her own wand out of its holster which caused the crowd to fall in even more frenzy. She looked him dead in the eye, unafraid and angry at all the trouble he had caused her. But if he wanted to challenge her in a duel then so be it. While Lindsey might specialize in transfigurations, Mara in potions, and of course Jordan had a certain knack for charms; Robin was always interested in dueling spells. While dueling wasn’t necessarily a class, it didn’t hurt to learn a few hexes and train in nonverbal magic.  
“Bombarda!” The boy yelled. He flicked his wand towards Robin and an explosion erupted from his wand aimed towards her ches. She quickly blocked his spell using the shield charm but stood alarmed by his actions. The Seeker regained his composure and started shooting various other spells at Robin both verbally and nonverbally but to his displeasure Robin continued to block them.  
“Are you going to fight or just keep blocking my spells your filthy coward.” He spat. Robins eyebrows knit together and she raised her wand just as the boy raised his.  
_Expulso_ Robin said loudly in her head. Her spell collided with the boys and their magic shot from their wands with fierce intensity. She gripped her wand firmly and watched as her spell overturned his causing the boy to stumble backwards. The crowd was absolutely losing it as the professors tried to push past the students and make it onto the field. Lindsey and Pendleton gripped the wooden railing of the stands as they watched Robin duel with the Gryffindor boy on the field as blood continued to flow from her nose and onto her navy shirt.  
Jordan was already on the ground and was standing and watching the duel with both his team and the Gryffindor one. Robin was gaining the upper hand as she rapidly shot spells at the boy only using nonverbal magic. Occasionally they would fire at the same time resulting in an explosion as their magic collided but she was certainly beating him. Five’s face no longer looked menacing but afraid as Robin stalked towards him, continuously firing spells at him.  
The duel came to an end when Robin slashed her wand through the air and a purple flame erupted from the tip. The purple fire hit the Seeker right in the chest, throwing him to the ground and knocking him unconscious. Immediately after it hit the boy Robin’s eyes widened in horror, realizing the damage that had been done. She looked down at her hand holding the wand and up at everyone else. The field was deathly silent as everyone looked at the Keeper of the Wampus house.  
McGonagall pushed past the Quidditch players and stood over the passed out boy in horror. “Get him to Madam Pomfrey’s this instant!” She screamed. Some of the Gryffindor members grabbed hold of their Seeker and Robin watched as they carried him towards the castle, the others grabbed his broom, wand, and goggles which had been thrown to the ground. McGonagall placed the tip of her wand against her throat to amplify her voice and ordered everyone to leave the pitch immediately. The students did as told without hesitation and the stands were quickly cleared. She ordered the Wampus players, all except Robin, to fly back to the castle as well and soon Robin was left standing in the Quidditch field, blood pouring from her nose and other scrapes on her body, in front of almost all the professors at Hogwarts.  
“My office, now.” McGonagall said through gritted teeth. 

+++

Lindsey and Pendleton stood at the schools entrance and watched as Robin was ordered to follow behind the professors and Headmistress back to the school. She trudged her way back to the school while dragging her broomstick behind her with one hand and the other held the broken goggles. The group walked past Pendleton and Lindsey, Robin glanced at them for a brief second before shaking her head which was a signal for the two of them not to follow her, and they watched as she went inside the castle.  
Naturally the two students trailed behind the brigade of professors and saw Robin ascend the stairs to McGonagall’s office. The Headmistress unlocked the door and motioned for the girl to step inside. “Do you think she’ll get expelled?” Lindsey asked sounding mortified by the situation.  
“I mean, they wouldn’t right?” Pendleton said, completely unsure of the situation.  
Robin stepped inside the Headmistress’ office and sat down in the chair she was ordered to sit in. She slumped in the soft leather cushioning and took the rag McGonagall offered her for her nose. Robin placed the rag over her nose and stared at the floor with dead eyes. Never in all her years at non-magical and magical school had she ever done something so out of place and gotten in so much trouble. Perhaps she had been doomed since the start of the school year.  
“I read in your school transcripts that you are planning on becoming a Curse Breaker, is that correct?” McGonagall said sternly. She looked across the desk at Robin who merely nodded her head. “For someone who wants to become a Curse _Breaker_ you are certainly skilled at creating them.” Robin clutched the rag tighter and kept her eyes on the Headmistress who only stared back at her with the same, wide eyed yet angry expression.  
“Tell me do you know what spell you used on that boy?”  
Robin remained silent, embarrassed by her actions.  
“Purple flames, knocking the victim unconscious, and I’m sure he will be sore for days. You used the curse created by Antonin Dolohov. Do you know who that was?” McGonagall asked. She was firm and unyielding with her words. Robin only nodded in response to her question.  
“So you _do_ know that Antonin Dolohov was a powerful Death Eater that was loyal to Voldemort from the very beginning. Which means you must be aware of the capabilities of this curse that you used against another student. And of course this also means you must’ve learned to use this spell someplace. Did you teach yourself or is Ilvermorny really teaching their students Dark Magic?” She stared down Robin with a deadly gaze but Robin took it as her turn to finally say a few words. She removed the rag from her nose and blinked rapidly at the sudden wave if pain.  
“They don’t teach that kind of stuff at Ilvermorny.” Robin breathed slowly which caused a few droplets of blood to splatter on her already soaked shirt. “Well, they teach us about Dark Magic, I mean they even brought over that elective course for your students but they don’t teach us how to practice it.” She paused so she could place her fingers on her nose and winced at the pain. Feeling how crooked it was, Robin placed both her hands on the sides of her nose and took a deep breath before continuing. “I learned the spell from a book at my school’s library when I was a third year.”  
McGonagall sighed and rested her head in her hand. “Have you had qualms with this particular student before this event?”  
“Yeah, he came at me on the train before we even got here. He called me a mudblood-” McGonagall gasped at the word which made Robin pause for a moment before continuing, “and honestly I don’t even know what mudblood or muggle means and at this point I’m too afraid to ask. But from what it sounded like it wasn’t anything good. Then on the first day of classes he grabbed my wrist and said some more harsh things at breakfast. My team winning the Quidditch match probably set something off in his brain.”  
“Well I can tell you the actions of Mr. Northcott-”  
“Who?” Robin asked, eyebrow quirked as she continued to hold her nose in place with her hands.  
“Mr. Northcott.” McGonagall repeated. Robin only raised her brows and the Headmistress rolled her eyes, “The student that attacked you on these multiple occasions.” Robin finally nodded at the realization that Northcott was the dick who had been making her time at Hogwarts unbearable.  
“His actions will not go unpunished Miss Stuart. Hopefully you will not hear from him again.” McGonagall waved her hand to dismiss Robin but she remained seated.  
“Don’t kick him off the team.” Robin said firmly.  
“Excuse me?” McGonagall asked.  
“Don’t kick him off the team, it’ll only make things worse. If he gets kicked off or demoted or whatever he’ll only come at me for that and make things even worse for me. His entire house probably thinks I’m a cheater and that’s the only reason why my team won today and if you kick him off then he’ll probably just think I made you kick him off.” The Headmistress raised her brows as she listened to Robin. “I think the damage I did to him today will be enough. The spell should leave him sore for a while.”  
“May I ask why you are letting him off so easy Miss Stuart?”  
Robin paused and removed her hands from her nose so she could really face the Headmistress.  
“I used to get bullied all the time for being No-Maj born back at Ilvermorny so it’s not like I’m not used to this type of treatment. But I know that a lot of those kids would only treat me like that because their parents put those types of ideas in their head. I’m sure Northcott’s parents did the same thing and the only reason why he says stuff like mudblood is because he was raised to believe it’s okay to think stuff like that.” Robin looked at the Headmistress who was smiling at her.  
“That’s very noble of you Miss Stuart.”  
“Yeah well I also know that later on Gryffindor gets a rematch with Wampus and I’d like to beat him again.”  
“And what happens if that rematch spawns another duel?”  
“Well judging by today’s performance I’ll win again which gives me four wins and he will have none.” Robin looked down at the small mirror resting on McGonagall’s desk and after taking a deep breath she cracked her nose into place. McGonagall was horrified and watched as Robin looked at the mirror again and made some minor adjustments to her nose.  
“Miss Stuart you know we have a perfectly capable nurse that can handle these sort of things without the hassle!” She said as she forced Robin to put the rag back on her nose as it leaked the remaining blood.  
“Yes I know,” Robin said as she left the office, “but this is the fourth time I’ve broken my nose and those spells give me bad migraines for two weeks after. Letting it heal the natural way is how I like to do it.” Robin gave a wave goodbye to the headmistress and collected her broom sitting by the door.  
She descended the stairs slowly, clutching her nose with one hand and her broom with the other and the second she reached the landing she was bombarded by her friends. “Jesus Christ Robin you look fucking terrible!” Lindsey said as she pulled Robin’s hand away from her nose so she could inspect the damage.  
“So, what’s the punishment?” Jordan asked nervously.  
“None.” Robin chirped.  
“I’m sorry, none?” Lindsey said surprised. Robin shrugged her shoulders and explained the entire conversation she had just had with the Headmistress which left the others surprised. While they were happy Robin had gotten off so easily they were perplexed as to how she had gotten off so easily. Cursing a student probably broke a dozen rules the school had set in place.  
Eventually the teens calmed down about the whole situation and Lindsey announced that she had to go try and find Mara who had been cooped up in her room all day because of her sickness. Jordan went to the Great Hall so he could take some food back to the common room for Robin who really needed to sit down for a while and get cleaned up.  
“You sure you’re alright?” Pendleton asked as he inspected Robin’s face as she sat on one of the leather couches. Her Quidditch shirt was caked in sand and blood and her hat was covered in bits of soot from all the magic. Not to mention the area under Robin’s eyes were already starting to form dark purple bruises and the lower half of her face was covered in dried blood. “Madam Pomfrey could probably fix you up in no time.”  
“It’s no big deal, really Pendleton I’m alright. My nose is back in place and in a few weeks I’ll be as good as new. No use in freaking out over it.”  
Robin smiled at her new friend and he smiled back. Pendleton was still wearing his Wampus baseball cap Mara had given him and he looked completely stressed. “Besides, it’s only Quidditch. In a few weeks we’ll have to worry about the Wizard Cup.”


	4. Part Four

Once October rolled around the buzz for the Wizard Tournament was at an all time high. Robin was still adamant about not competing as she was too focused on the Quidditch tournament for school. Mara on the other hand was incredibly excited about putting her name in the cup and believed that her strong hope to be picked would actually cause the Goblet of Fire to spit her name from its cup. Lindsey however was on the fence and decided to not tell either of her friends as both of them would have something to say about whatever choice she made. On one hand, Robin was right. They were at a school where it seemed like the majority of people didn’t like them and she didn’t feel like risking her grades in any of her classes. Quidditch also played a major role as the Thunderbirds just had their first game of the year against Ravenclaw. Her team had won the game but only by a few points so dividing her time between the Wizard Cup, school, and Quidditch would be difficult. However on the other hand she understood Mara’s reasoning. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it would be a shame if she didn’t enter her name in the cup, it’s not like it was guaranteed that she was going to get picked anyways. And unlike Robin, Lindsey had ties to the Wizarding World and she grew up hearing about the Tournament across the ocean and a part of her wished she could participate.   
The thirtieth arrived sooner than Lindsey had hoped and she was still mulling over her options. No one could really focus on their classes that day as everyone was excited for the arrival of the two other schools. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, two of the most prestigious Wizarding schools in the world. Beauxbatons was reportedly larger than Hogwarts which meant Ilvermorny must be tiny compared to the size of that school and Durmstrang was notorious for the powerful Wizards and Witches that it produces. Robin was especially unexcited about the Durmstrang students after she found out they don’t allow No-Maj students to attend their school which meant she was probably going to be picked on even more.  
“Their school is over hyped.” Mara stated as the three girls sat in the courtyard of the school that afternoon. Classes ended early as preparations for the oncoming students needed to be attended to. Apparently a little cottage had been created beside the school where the new students would reside. McGonagall had placed a charm on it so it resembled a lavish mansion on the inside big enough to host plenty of students and their things.   
“Besides, it’s not like we’ll see them much. They take different classes from us and it’s not like they’ll want to talk to any of us. Hogwarts is all well and good but from what I’ve heard about Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, _they’re_ the snotty ones.” Mara assured as she read part of her potions textbook.  
“The majority of Hogwarts kids are already jerks, how am I supposed to deal with even worse ones?” Robin asked sarcastically with a smirk plastered on her face. She was sitting beside Mara underneath a large tree and other students passed by, excited for the welcoming feast and unveiling of the Goblet of Fire.   
“What ever happened to that guy you were talking to?” Lindsey asked, eager to change the subject as she was still considering putting her name in the cup.  
“And _why_ won’t you tell us his name?” Robin asked while picking at a blade of grass.  
Mara’s pale cheeks instantly turned red at the thought of Terrance in her potions class. She had told her friends about him a few weeks prior and both were eager to hear more. All she had really done with him was shamelessly flirt as they worked on potions with one another and Mara was working up the courage to ask him on a study date. The reason why she chose not to share his name was because she was worried something might happen between to two of him and she didn’t want her friends to get too attached. It was only a small crush after all but Mara secretly hoped they would attend the Yule Ball with one another. “We still talk.” She muttered while trying to conceal her face behind her textbook. “Besides, he probably just thinks of me as a friend.”  
“Didn’t he call you beautiful like two seconds after you met?” Robin said flatly while not looking up from the grass.  
“Okay yeah but that was probably a joke.”  
“Doesn’t sound like a joke to me.”  
“That’s because you have a terrible sense of humor.”  
“How am I the one who has a shitty sense of humor when you think someone calling you pretty is funny?”  
“You weren’t _there_ so you didn’t know how he said it.”  
“Did he say it sarcastically or something?”  
“No but-”  
“Then he wasn’t joking.”  
Lindsey watched her two friends shoot back and forth at one another. Mara’s blush was getting worse and all Robin could do was smile and stare at the ground because everyone knew she was right. It wasn’t until Robin checked her watch when she realized it was after five o’clock and they all had to be at the Great Hall by six for the welcoming feast. All of them quickly left for their dorm rooms so they could put on proper clothing and robes as well as put away their school bags.   
Robin looked at her face in the bathroom mirror. It had been a month since her nose had broken but it had been the worst break she had ever had. The first time she had broken it was actually when she first met Lindsey way back during their second year at Ilvermorny. It was the first Quidditch game of the season and the two of them were the brand new chasers for their house teams. Thirty minutes into the game both of them slammed head first into each other twenty feet up in the air as they tried to avoid a bludger. Both girls woke up in the medical wing of the school a few days later and Lindsey ended up with a broken arm while Robin had a splitting migraine from the magic used to heal her broken nose. Since then they had been close friends, bonding over the ridiculous scenario that made them become buddies.  
The swelling on her face had gone down significantly but because it was such a bad break and she had only reset it with her own two hands it still required a bandage on top to hold it in place till it completely reset. The bruising was just starting to fade into yellow and luckily the spontaneous nose bleeds had stopped. It was a pain in the ass to have to stop and leave Dark Magic classes in the middle of lectures because of a simple nose bleed.   
She left the common room with Pendleton and Jordan and met with Lindsey who was waiting outside for them. All four walked to the Great Hall and sat at their designated seats waiting for Headmistress McGonagall to begin speaking. “Isn’t it so exciting!” Stephanie whispered to Mara as they sat at the Ravenclaw table. Mara nodded her head eagerly, excited to finally put her name in the Goblet of Fire after the feast. She already had it written on a neatly folded piece of parchment, her name scrawled on it in black ink.  
Secretly, Lindsey had also written her name on a scrap piece of notebook paper she had ripped out of one of her composition books. She did it completely last minute in the dorms, the composition book still out on her bed with half of a page missing from it. The paper was balled up in her fist, now completely wrinkled and her name was written messily in blue ballpoint pen ink. She tucked it away in the pocket of her jeans and her stomach churned as McGonagall started speaking about how honored Hogwarts was to host the Wizarding Tournament.  
Pendleton even sat nervously next to Robin at the Slytherin dining table. He had thought long and hard on whether or not he wanted to put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Most of his family members who had the opportunity to put their name in the cup actually did and none of them had been picked. Of course it was a risk, the Goblet could actually end up picking him, but a part of him knew he wasn’t going to get chosen. Pendleton always felt a part of him just wasn’t always that brave and some of the previous tasks for the tournament seemed to daunting. If anyone from Hogwarts was to be chosen it would be someone like Northcott, or any Gryffindor for that matter. Everyone already hated Slytherin so why would the cup choose a Slytherin to represent the school.  
“It is now time to introduce the sixth and seventh year students coming to Hogwarts all the way from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry!” McGonagall said proudly, ripping Pendletons attention away from the piece of cloth he had written his name on and stuck in one of the pockets of his robe next to his wand.   
The doors of the Great Hall opened and two lines of students flooded the room and sat down at a table that had been set up for them. One of the lines wore crisp white shirts with either gray slacks or skirts while short, powder blue cloaks rested on their shoulders. All of them looked smart and were easily the students from Beauxbatons as all of them had their heads held high and walked with a sort of grace. Next to them was a long line of boys and girls dressed in sleek deep red shirts tucked neatly into black pants or skirts. Each wore the same pair of heavy boots and fur capes flowed behind them. Their wands were tucked into pockets on the sides of their pants or skirts and all of them looked confident and regal.  
Robin watched the new additions to the school and couldn’t help but feel self conscious. Underneath her slightly wrinkled navy and cranberry cloak she wore a simple pair of baggy ripped jeans that were cuffed at the bottom and all she was wearing on top was a plain black t-shirt. Suddenly her golden knot that clasped her cloak together looked dull and she noticed how the edges of her brown leather wand holster were starting to fray because she had kept the same one since her first year at school. Across the table Jordan felt the same was as he looked down at the sneakers he was wearing. They were caked in mud from Quidditch practice and he had started to wear band aids on his palms as his broomstick was starting to make him have splinters.   
Lindsey watched as the Headmasters of the two schools said a few words but she couldn’t help but look at the students in awe. All of them completely uniform, even more uniform than the ones at Hogwarts. None of them had wand holsters or scuffed shoes, not a hair out of place. The tournament this year would be a true spectacle. With a wave of her wand McGonagall summoned a beautiful jewel encrusted statue in the middle of the great hall. With another flick the jewels faded away revealing the glorious Goblet of Fire that had blue flames that sparkled out the top. The students oohed and ahhed at the marvelous structure and soon the feast began. Afterwards, students would be allowed to place their names in the cup.   
“Putting your name in?” Alexios asked Lindsey who was eating her food rather quietly. She glared at him and nudged his side with her elbow.  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“I think you do.” He said mockingly which earned him another nudge. Alexios could only laugh because of course Lindsey decided to put her name in the cup.  
Jordan and Robin watched as one of the boys from Durmstrang rose from his table and pushed his fluttering cape aside. He shot a wink at his friends and marched towards the cup with a folded piece of paper between his fingers. He let it flutter into the Goblet and its flames consumed the slip and let out a loud crackle. His friends cheered and all the girls seemed to flutter their lashes at him. Robin could only roll her eyes at how cocky he was acting and in her opinion, the boy wasn’t even that good looking.   
Mara rose from her table as well and people watched as she let her name go into the cup as expected. A few others put their names in the cup after her and it wasn’t until Lindsey finally rose her her table that Robin and Jordan raised their brows. “Wait a minute.” Jordan gasped. They watched as their redheaded friend nervously put her name in the cup and walked back to her table. She looked across to see her best friend and her brother looking at her with shocked expressions and the only thing she could do was shrug her shoulders.   
“Well, I guess I should go up before the line gets too long.” Pendleton said, trying to sound casual.   
“Wait you’re putting your name in the cup?” Jordan asked. Pendleton stood before his two Ilvermorny friends as he rubbed the piece of fabric with his name on it with his fingers. Jordan was still shocked and Robin only looked concerned. Pendleton looked at his friends a moment longer and abruptly turned away from them so he could put his name in the cup. The watched as his hand hovered atop the flames and his balled up fist fell open, the piece of fabric in his hand was consumed by the fire leaving a churning sensation in not just his own stomach but Robins as well. 

+++

The next morning Pendleton didn’t see Robin or Jordan in the common room despite the fact that he got up early like usual. Normally they would all hang out for an hour before they had to get ready but it seemed that they were either still in bed or had left the dormitories. By breakfast time it was confirmed that they had already left and as he sat at his table he still didn’t see them. It dawned on him that maybe they were avoiding him, maybe they didn’t like him anymore because he had thrown his name in the Goblet of Fire. He looked at it from across the great hall, a few students were still throwing their names in and suddenly he regretted his decision.   
Lindsey sat across from him looking displeased as well. Once she had learned that her brother and best friend were nowhere to be seen she thought she had made a huge mistake. If she had known that putting her name in the cup meant so much to Robin she wouldn’t of thought about it in the first place. As she left for class she hoped Magical Creatures wouldn’t be awkward because that was the one class she had with her friend. It dawned on her that Robin might not even show up at all.   
By the time Magical Creatures did roll around however she did in fact see Robin sitting at their normal seats in the back of the classroom. Hagrid told the class he had a spooky creature they would be learning about in the spirit of Halloween. Lindsey quickly took her spot beside Robin and put her textbook down on the shared desk space. Robin already had her notes out and a bored expression plastered on her face.   
“Hey.” Lindsey said quietly as she dug around in her backpack for a pencil.   
“Sup.” Robin responded in a louder voice. Hagrid started setting up the incredibly old fashioned projector and more students started filing in for class.   
“You’re not, like, mad or anything right?” Lindsey asked timidly. She stared down at her notes and waited for class to begin. It was going to be a horribly awkward class and by tomorrow Robin would probably end up finding a new seat.  
“Why the hell would I be mad?”  
“Well uh, I thought you were upset.”  
“I’m okay, you’re the one who is acting weird.” Robin was whispering because class had started. Hagrid was teaching the class about the Hidebehind, another creature native to North America. Both girls started scribbling down notes even though they already knew a great deal about the Hidebehind as it was a well known magical creature in North America who was also involved in the founding of Ilvermorny.   
“I thought you and Jordan were upset about the fact I put my name in the Goblet of Fire.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, you guys looked pissed last night and Pendleton and I thought you guys were avoiding us this morning. He said he didn’t see you guys in the common room.”  
Robin rolled her eyes and turned towards Lindsey. “Neither of us are pissed about the Cup of Fire thing-  
“Goblet”  
“Whatever. Initially we were just shocked because you said you didn’t want to but putting your name in is your choice. You have more ties to magic than I do so it’s understandable as to why you would put your name in. As for Pendleton we were also just shocked, he expressed like zero interest in putting his name in. This morning we had to check on the owls, we left a note and everything for Pendleton.”  
“So you’re not mad?”  
“Ew no. You’re a Thunderbird, adventure is in your blood.”  
Lindsey let out a sigh of relief and continued jotting down notes.

+++

It was the last few moments before the names would be picked from the cup. Mara was sitting with her friends that night at dinner and as each of them anxiously waited at the Slytherin table her leg bounced and she gripped her skirt tightly. She truly hoped she would be picked as it was an honor to participate in the Wizard Cup and it would be nice to show up the other elite wizarding schools. Lindsey was nervous as well, wondering if putting her name in the cup was a good idea. Robin expressed that the only thing she found concerning about the tournament was how unsafe it could be. She expressed her concerns to Pendleton after assuring him she wasn’t upset with him for putting his name in but just worried about his safety. He could tell she seemed nervous but reminded her that a ton of students put their names in and he probably wouldn’t end up getting picked.   
Jordan was worried about his sister as well and kept reminding himself she probably wouldn’t get picked. Mara was the model candidate for their school and the Goblet seemed to have a mind of its own so it would end up choosing her anyways. He watched as the remnants of their dinner was cleared away and students directed their attention towards the Goblet of Fire and McGonagall who was standing beside it.  
“Now is the time for the Goblet of Fire to choose the candidates for this years Wizard Tournament. Everyone please remain silent as the Goblet chooses the first name.”  
Everyone in the Great Hall waited in anticipation as the flames in the cup grew higher and turned a darker shade of blue. With a loud roar, a singed piece of paper flew from the fire and fluttered down into McGonagall’s outstretched hand. She unfolded it carefully and shouted, “Jan Weber!” loud enough for everyone to hear. Students across the hall started cheering as a boy from Durmstrang rose from his seat and proudly walked over to McGonagall. Robin noticed it was the same boy from the night before that looked over confident and made all the girls swoon. His name sounded incredibly German and as he stood next to the Headmistress he dripped in pride.   
The Goblet’s flame rose high again and another piece of parchment flew from the fire. McGonagall caught it in the air and read the name “Basile Fabron”, another name no one had recognized. A boy dressed in one of the fancy blue cloaks stood and adjusted his crisp white shirt. He was from Beauxbatons, and as he stood next to Jan he was much smaller and had a mess of dirty blond curls atop his head.   
At this point Lindsey was sweating like no tomorrow and Mara was bubbling with excitement. Pendleton was trying to remain calm as Robin and Jordan felt like they were going to vomit up their dinners. The Goblet roared again and this time it let out something weightier, it dropped into McGonagall’s hand and before Pendleton had time to prepare himself he heard his name ring through the Great Hall. “Pendleton Digby!” She shouted loudly.  
“Your last name is Digby?” Jordan blurted out as he didn’t know what to say.  
Everyone’s eyes were wide including his as his house cheered him to go stand with the other contestants. Lindsey looked back at Northcott who was rolling his eyes and looked very unamused and upset that he didn’t get chosen.   
It was the final moment and tensions were high. Lindsey just wanted to leave and Mara couldn’t stand to wait any longer. Robin was nervous even though she didn’t even put her name in the damn Goblet of Fire but after reading about what happened to Harry Potter those years ago anything was possible. The flame grew and the final piece of paper flew from the cup. It was so light and airy, so unbelievably burnt that McGonagall had trouble even reading the name.   
“Lindsey Ottle!” She said.   
Lindsey really almost threw up as she stood with shaky legs to join the others. Mara clapped enthusiastically despite her slight disappointment that she didn’t get chosen while Robin was covering her face with her hands. Jordan honestly wanted to cry because an odd range of emotions was going through his brain. Lindsey stood next to Pendleton with a pale face and sweaty fingers. The room echoed with applause and people cheered for the candidates.   
“Your clue for the first competition is that the event is something that has already happened this school year.” McGonagall said to the candidates. Lindsey was still too shocked to even register what she had said and Pendleton had no idea as to what the event could even be. 

+++

“What if it’s an exam?”  
It had been a week after the names had been drawn from the cup and everyone was still trying to wrap their head around the clue McGonagall had given them. So far the most likely scenario had been a chase after the Golden Snitch but an exam _could_ seem likely. It would be boring but it was possible. Not much had happened so far besides all the new students attending Hogwarts and a couple tests in astronomy and potions class.   
So far classes with the new additions had been going well. Most of the Beauxbatons students weren’t interested in Dark Arts so Robin rarely saw them but Mara seemed to be getting along with them just fine. Apparently the contestant chosen from Beauxbatons, Basile Fabron, was a nice boy who was often shy and rarely spoke but had interest in healing spells as well as arithmancy. Durmstrang students on the other hand did in fact enjoy the Dark Arts but not many of them took the elective class that Robin and Pendleton were in. Jan Weber however did take the class and Robin found that he was flirtatious and talkative. One thing about him that was nice was he didn’t look down on No-Maj born or even Half-Bloods despite the fact his school didn’t allow No-Maj born to attend. His specialties however lied within transfiguration and Dark Arts didn’t seem like a very strong suit for him.  
A few days later Jordan rushed into the dining hall with his cloak barely fastened and stopped in front of his friends with heaving breaths. He waved off his sister who kept asking what could possibly be wrong and after Jordan finally caught his breath he said, “Dueling.”  
“Excuse me?” Lindsey replied, confused as to why her brother would bring up dueling during lunch time.  
“They said the event had already happened and a duel has already happened this year.”  
Lindsey’s eyes widened and all Robin could do was groan into the palms of her hands.


	5. Part Five

“But Robin you’re the _only_ one out of all of us who is good at dueling spells!” Lindsey said as she tried to chase down her friend. She had been trying to convince Robin all week to teach her dueling spells because she was quite bad at them. Transfigurations was her specialty not dueling and the only thing she knew were a few charms and maybe a jinx.   
“We don’t even know if it’s a duel!”  
“It is most certainly a duel Robin and you know that!” Lindsey shrieked as she caught up with her friend. They were in the courtyard now and a few other students were staring. Robin kept refusing to help Lindsey all week because she didn’t like the idea that both Pendleton and Lindsey needed her help so she elected to not help either of them. But the real reason why she didn’t want to help was because she was still pissed about the fact that they were having a dueling competition as the first task and the clue was ‘it already happened earlier this year’ in reference to her duel she had with Northcott during the first Quidditch match. The Ministry certainly had a good sense of humor.   
“Robin _please_. You know I suck at dueling spells what if I get hurt.”   
Robin looked at Lindsey with a harsh glare and after a few moments she broke down and mumbled ‘fine’ through gritted teeth. The thought of Lindsey getting hurt was upsetting especially if she could do something to prevent that. Besides, Pendleton should be more than capable to handle himself in a duel making him the real threat to this competition. Jan Weber was taking Dark Arts Studies for kicks while Basile Fabron couldn’t hurt a fly. 

+++

The two girls met late at night two days before the first competition. They snuck out of their beds and met on the grounds outside of the school a little ways away from the Whomping Willow. It was starting to get chilly as it was late November and both were dressed in warm sweatpants and thick hoodies. Lindsey marched through the muddy ground in her rain boots and finally met Robin in a small clearing.   
“I’m positive the ground rules will be that the Unforgivable Curses will be forbidden during your dueling contest but I’m going to teach you a couple of spells that could _possibly_ be lethal.” Robin said as she removed her wand from its holster.  
“Wait what?” Lindsey asked. “Why do you know deadly spells?”  
“I said _possibly_ lethal.”  
“That’s still lethal!”  
Robin groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Okay well if you do them properly then they won’t be lethal.”  
“How fucking dangerous are these curses and why do you know them?”  
“Just don’t say them out loud for god's sake! Every spell is less powerful when you say them in your head so just be sure to do that!”  
“Are you teaching me the one you used on Northcott?”  
“Oh hell no! No one even knows the words for that spell and it took me years of practice to even figure it out. The Antonin Dolohov spell is most likely incredibly lethal when used to its full capacity and when said out loud so thank god no one knows the words to it.”  
“Why the hell would you use that spell on that guy?” Lindsey whisper-yelled.  
“Okay honestly I went out on a limb when I used that spell I didn’t even know it was going to work.”  
“So half of this is just winging it?”  
Robin groaned again but tried to remain silent so they wouldn’t get caught out of bed. “If you do what I say then all of this will be fine.” Lindsey nodded and gripped her wand firmly. “The first thing I’m going to go over with you is the Shield Charm. You slash your wand in a downwards motion like this,” Robin showed the motion and Lindsey started to remember the lesson in DADA that went over the spell. “Now just thing the word ‘protego’ anytime a spell comes at you and you should be safe.”  
“Okay sounds easy.”  
“Great now use it.”   
“Wait what?”  
Before Lindsey could finish her though Robin slashed her wand in a sideways V motion and a blue light erupted from her wand. Lindsey quickly blocked it with the shield charm but stumbled a few steps backwards from the power Robins spell had created. “Did you just use Reducto on me? Are you insane?” Lindsey asked as she stomped towards her friend.  
“Well it’s good that you know what Reducto is, you can use it during the duel. And you did a good job blocking too, quick thinking. Next is Expulso which was one of the curses I used during my duel with Northcott. All you have to do is point you wand and firmly saw ‘expulso’ in your brain. Watch.” Robin turned toward a log lying on the ground that looked too heavy to carry. She took a firm stance and with a jutting motion she quickly pointed her wand at the log and another faint blue light erupted from the tip of her wand. It hit the log and flew through the air, hitting the ground a few second later with a loud thud that cracked it down the side. “Your turn!”  
Throughout the night Robin continued to teach Lindsey spells that could come in handy for the oncoming competition. By the end of the night she mastered Expulso, Confringo, as well as Reducto. Robin had also taught her how to use Sectumsempra, a curse a previous Hogwarts Headmaster had created and was incredibly dangerous. “Use it as a last ditch effort, okay?”

+++

It was November 24th and Lindsey woke up feeling like she was going to vomit. The first competition had come at last on a crisp Friday morning. It seemed like only Lindsey and Pendleton knew about the first event as every other student was still trying to figure out what could possibly be happening. Lindsey ditched her robe for the day and settled with a gray sweater and an old pair of Levis with sneakers on her feet. The Great Hall was closed that morning because they were setting up for competition and she set off to go find her friends.   
Jordan met up with her on the staircase and said everyone was meeting up at the owlery because it was most likely going to be abandoned while everyone else tried to find breakfast. They pushed past students who were talking about the days events and met up with their friends who were all admiring the owls. Lindsey greeted her Barred Owl Jamie with a few scratches on his head and allowed him to perch on her shoulder. Jordan snapped his hand away from Beatrice who attempted to bite his fingers while Mara cooed at her cat Angus who she held in her arms.   
Robin was introducing Pendleton to her owl, Don, as they spoke to one another about the dueling contest that would happen in an hour. “I already told you everything I know.” She said quietly as she pet the top of Don’s head. Pendleton looked down at Robin with pleading eyes as she pet the owl perched on his shoulder.   
“You didn’t teach me that one spell-”  
“I’m not teaching you the Dolohov curse and you know that. It’s unteachable.”  
“You know it.”  
“Well I’m just that good.”  
Pendleton smirked and Robin just looked smug about her own comment.   
“You know just as much as I know and maybe more. You’ll do fine as long as you don’t kill my friend.” Pendleton glanced over at Lindsey who was speaking to Mara and her brother. Her hand was balled up into a fist and shaking by her side. She looked nervous and so did Robin and so did everyone including Pendleton. His stomach was doing somersaults and his palms felt rather sweaty. Don’s down feathers were sticking to his fingers so he wiped them on his pants so Robin wouldn’t see. He was dressed in a nice pair of slacks and a green sweater, fitting for his house. His wand was tucked neatly into the black blazer he was wearing and a part of him felt like he all too formal. Even though Mara was dressed in a dress and a dark velvet cloak as always, Robin and her friends were dressed in jeans like they always were. Robin was wearing a t-shirt and something she called a wind breaker which was made out of a strange material that made a lot of noise when she walked.   
“I feel like that Weber guy is a real threat.” Pendleton said softly as he continued to stroke Don lightly. “I heard he’s an Animagus, a big brown Great Dane dog. Sounds pretty ferocious if you ask me.”  
“So? Lindsey is an Animagus.” Mara said after she had overheard what Pendleton had said to Robin. “Anyone can become one if they put their mind to it, not like it’s a big deal or anything.”  
“Lindsey is an Animagus?” Pendleton asked. Lindsey nodded her head proudly while everyone else rolled their eyes.   
“Yeah and it was a big pain in the ass when she had to have the Mandrake leaf in her mouth for an entire goddamn month. All she would do was complain about the taste despite the fact it was her choice to do the ritual in the first place.” Jordan complained. Pendleton laughed at how everyone treated the situation, usually becoming an Animagus was a big deal.  
“She did it when she was fourteen too which made it even worse because for awhile she just bragged about it. Plus the only reason she became one was just so she could say she was an Animagus.” said Robin.   
“You said you would become one with me!” Lindsey retorted.  
“How the hell am I supposed to have time for that? I suck at transfigurations anyways so what makes you think I could transfigure my entire body?” Robin shot back.   
Jordan checked his watch and realized it was about time everyone left for the first competition. They could see students down below starting to file inside as well as heard the commotion from everyone’s excitement. They descended the tower and went towards the Great Hall where everyone else was headed but before they could walk through the doors McGonagall whisked Pendleton and Lindsey away from the others. Jordan watched as his sister who could hardly say goodbye was pulled away from the hall to some other room where she had to stay before the competition began.  
“She’ll be okay.” Mara assured as she was still holding Angus in her arms. The cat was trying to wiggle out of her grasp but by the time they found seats he calmed down.   
All of the tables had been removed from the hall and instead wooden risers had been put up along the walls for everyone to sit on. They creaked and groaned as everyone smashed together to make room for all the extra students. The rest of the floor was empty, giving enough space for the contestants to duel. Stephanie had joined the group of teens and was talking excitedly to Mara about the first competition while Jordan and Robin still remained nervous.   
Both felt conflicted as Pendleton had started to become a real nice friend of theirs but he did pose the greatest threat to Lindsey if they were to duel against one another. He was skilled in the Dark Arts just as Robin was and Robin hoped she had taught her friend enough. She knew that if Pendleton were to hurt Lindsey during the duel it would be an accident but at the same time she didn’t really know who to root for. The Wizarding Tournament was doing a good job at causing a divide between the schools rather than unify them.   
McGonagall came out with someone from the Ministry of Magic as well as all the champions. Jan Weber came out first dressed in a black button of shirt and expensive looking slacks paired with a regal red cloak draped elegantly over his shoulders. His wand was clutched in his hands and he waved to all the students from Durmstrang wearing his award winning smile. The teens had managed to snag a spot in the front of the risers where they were able to see all the action. As Jan passed by the risers all the girls swooned but as he passed by the group, he winked, before moving on.   
“Oh my fucking god!” Mara said excitedly as she punched Robin’s shoulder repeatedly. “Jan Weber from Durmstrang totally just winked at you!” Robin pushed her friend off and rolled her eyes. She had only spoken to Jan a handful of times in Dark Arts Studies and he was flirtatious with everyone so a little wink wasn’t anything special.   
Next Basile Fabron walked out wearing a crisp blue shirt and gray pants with neatly tied brown boots on his feet. He hair was a messy set of blond curls atop his head and he waved modestly at everyone as he passed by. Third was Pendleton who was met with an eruption of applause and cheers from the entire Hogwarts school. He looked surprised that everyone was cheering for him and he awkwardly walked towards the end of the hall where McGonagall stood. Finally, Lindsey walked out. Jordan, Mara, and Robin all screamed and cheered for their friend so she wouldn’t hear the overwhelming amounts of booing coming from the other schools. She walked quickly to the end of the hall where she stood next to Pendleton. He gave her a quick nudge and a smile which made her feel a little better but not by much.   
McGonagall stepped forward and raised her hands so everyone would quiet down. “By now I’m sure all of you have realised the first event of the Wizard Tournament shall be a dueling contest. Whoever leaves the contest with the most victories shall be the winner of the first event and will receive a benefit that will help them in the next round. The rules of the duel are as follows, the use of the Unforgivable Curses are banned, no one from the outside is allowed to help any of the competitors, and no one is allowed to engage in any physical combat during the duels. Is the clear?” Everyone nodded their heads and McGonagall smiled. “Good, now the first duel that will take place will be between Mr. Weber from Durmstrang and Mr. Digby from Hogwarts.”  
Everybody proceeded to clap as McGonagall made her way to the risers where everyone else was seated. She happened to sit next to Robin and the others and they all watched as Pendleton nervously walked to the other end of the hall with his wand clutched in his right hand.   
“Nice use of the clue by the way.” Robin said to McGonagall who stood beside her. The Headmistress looked up at her and smirked.   
“I don’t plan the events Miss Stuart, the Ministry does.”  
“I assume you alerted the Ministry about my duel though. They certainly are crafty.”  
McGonagall smiled but focused her attention on the two boys standing across from one another. They bowed to each other and took their stances, Jan took a proud, flamboyant stance where he held one of his arms out and the other was above his head which held his wand. Pendleton merely held his wand directly out in front of him and for a brief moment there was silence.   
“Expelliarmus!” Jan shouted before a jet of red sparks flashed from the tip of his wand. Pendleton quickly blocked the spell using the shield charm and regained composure. Jan continued to shoot a couple more spells at him causing the crowd to go into a frenzy but Pendleton successfully blocked them all.   
A spark of green light emitted from Pendleton’s wand and hit Jan in his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He had only used Verdimillious, a simple charm that didn’t do much damage but could stun an opponent for a bit. _C’mon Pendleton_ Robin thought as she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, _you’re better than this stuff_.  
One thing Jan had over Pendleton was speed. He constantly shot spells at him rabid fire but most of the time he said them out loud which gave Pendleton the ability to anticipate them. The only time he was minorly damaged was when Jan had used Lumos to his advantage, blinding Pendleton for a moment which threw him off his rhythm. He came back thou as he used the Flipendo jinx that successfully knocked Jan to the ground.   
Pendleton got into the swing of things afterwards and moved on to more powerful spells. Orbis sucked Jan to the ground for a brief second and without words, Robin watched as Pendleton used Petrificus Totalus to made Jan go rigid and fall to the ground. After he successfully used Expelliarmus to disarm him and Pendleton won the duel. He smiled as everyone cheered for him and after he used the reversal charm on Jan so he could move again. Thankfully, Jan was a good sport and only laughed off his loss and firmly shook Pendleton’s hand.  
Lindsey realized it was her turn to go up and she felt nervous. She walked to the opposite side of the room where Pendleton had stood and before she bowed she looked over at her friends. Jordan gave a thumbs up, Mara smiled and waved, while Robin just nodded. She was confident that Lindsey knew everything she needed to know and as her friend took her spot across from Basile, bowed, and held her arm out, she knew she was going to be okay.   
Without a word Lindsey cast Expulso at Basile, knocking him to the ground and causing his wand to be thrown from his hand. There was a small pause until everyone burst out into applause as Lindsey had won the duel to quickly and effectively with just one spell, proving some people might have underestimated her.   
“I assume you had a hand in your friends training for this duel.” McGonagall muttered to Robin. Robin shrugged her shoulders and smiled as her friend had just won her first duel

+++

The first event in the Wizard Tournament was coming to a close. So far Pendleton and Lindsey were on top having two wins. Both had beat Basile and Jan in their duels and Jan stood in second place with one win and Basile in last with zero. He didn’t seem to mind though, claiming healing was his forte anyways and the thought of dueling always seemed to violent. It was the last match and Pendleton and Lindsey would have to face one another and fight over the first place spot. Robin and Jordan were incredibly nervous as Pendleton had started to use curses as he went on with his duels, and he used them effectively. Lindsey had the element of surprise during her first duel but the one against Jan was lengthy and she had only one because he stumbled over his words during a spell.   
Pendleton and Lindsey stood across from one another on opposite sides of the room. The bowed hesitantly and brought their arms up so their wands were pointed firmly at one another. Each held their wand with white knuckle grips and their brows were furrowed intense concentration. Mara was holding her breath, waiting for the first blast of magic to be fired and her cat Angus was even watching intently, his bright green eyes monitoring the faces of Lindsey and Pendleton. Jordan was so nervous his knees were shaking and he was gripping Robin’s hand to the point it would leave bruises by the next day. Lindsey glanced at Robin for a brief second but Robin just merely nodded her head which signaled Lindsey knew all she needed to know.   
The first spell came from Lindsey who cast Reducto. She moved her wand silently and a bright blue flash of magic came from the tip of her wand and hurtled towards Pendleton. He blocked it successfully but still stumbled back a few steps as he wasn’t totally prepared. Lindsey fired again with the same spell in hopes her speed would cause Pendleton to screw up and fall to the ground. He continued blocking her spells until he fired one of his own. Their magic met one another in bright colors, streaming against one another. Magic sparked to the floor as they held their ground, casting powerful curses at one another. Pendleton was using Expulso while Lindsey was using Confringo. The bright blue magic made everyone squint until Pendleton’s spell overpowered Lindsey’s, causing her to be thrown to the ground.   
Pendleton looked worried as she slowly got up from the floor and fired another spell at him. At this point Mara was using her cat to shield her face and Jordan was squeezing Robin’s hand so hard she thought her fingers would break. Robin looked at McGonagall who seemed tense over the situation at hand but both knew there was nothing they could do to stop the competition.   
Lindsey continued blocking Pendleton’s spells and occasionally firing one of her own at him. He was hit once with a wave of magic that caused him to cramp up for a moment but he broke out of the spell just in time to block the Expelliarmus charm Lindsey shot in his direction. They continued to duel frantically, magic meeting one another and bright flashes of light to fill up the Great Hall.   
But it all came to a sudden halt when Pendleton hit Lindsey with a curse that made everyone stop cheering. Once it hit Lindsey she let out a loud cry while stumbling backwards. Robin instantly recognized what had just happened and as everyone started shouting for a medic the blood rushed to her ears as she watched Jordan hop the barrier and rush to his sisters side. Pendleton slowly walked backwards, tears forming in his eyes as he realized the damage he had just done to someone he considered a friend.   
The second he had muttered the word Sectumsempra it was like an invisible dagger had slashed across Lindsey’s face and chest. Copious amounts of blood spurted from her wounds as she fell to the floor. Jordan was screaming that someone get help and as the boy turned he saw Pendleton looking right back at him.   
“What the _fuck_ Pendleton?” Jordan shouted from across the hall. Immediately Mara came to Jordan’s side to pull him back. There couldn’t be another duel breaking out after what had just happened. Basile Fabron was now assessing Lindsey’s condition and started performing a spell that made all the blood that was leaking from her body go back inside of her. The slashes still weren’t healed but it would be enough until Madame Pomfrey arrived.   
Robin came up to Pendleton from behind and harshly gripped his sweater, tearing him away from the scene. Luckily no one was focusing on him but instead on Lindsey who was still passed out on the floor. Robin didn’t feel like breaking up any fist fights which would surely come is an Ilvermorny student got their hands on Pendleton. His feet dragged the floor as she pulled him out of the Hall and to the far end of the castle so no one could find him. Eventually they ended up outside underneath the rickety old bridge that was located in the back of the school. The roof of the bridge did little to shield the two teens from the brisk wind outside. Robin finally let go of Pendleton’s clothes and she let him regain a decent amount of composure.   
He slumped on the ground with his back against one of the columns and his feet sprawled out in front of him. Pendleton covered his face and Robin could hear the sounds of faint sobs coming from him. She watched as his shoulders shook and his cries became louder underneath his hands which muffled the sounds. Robin clenched her fists, unsure of what to do as she wasn’t really the greatest at comforting people but she pushed that aside and sat down next to Pendleton on the bridge.   
“It’ll be okay.” She said firmly. Pendleton wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Robin coldly. His face was red and blotchy with tear stains still on his cheeks.  
“You don’t know that. You saw how pissed Jordan was, who’s to think he’ll forgive me. I did something horrible to his sister and could’ve killed her just so I could win a stupid competition.” Pendleton took off his glasses and wiped his eyes a few more times and ran his fingers through his hair. It was messy and unkempt now, and his clothes were all wrinkled. “He hates me Robin and he always will. I don’t blame him either I would feel the same way if I were in his position.”  
“He doesn’t hate you.”  
“Yes he does.”  
“No,” Robin said exasperated, “he doesn’t. He’s angry and upset but Jordan can also sometimes be over dramatic. It’s understandable as to why he’d be mad and sure he might hold a grudge for a while but he sure as hell doesn’t hate you.”  
“Again, you don’t know that.”  
“Pendleton, the first time I ever met Lindsey was when we crashed our brooms into each other and I ended up breaking her arm. Jordan was only a first year and he wouldn’t talk to me for three months afterwards despite the fact Lindsey forgave me and became my best friend. But eventually he got over it because he could see that his sister was happy and the whole thing was just an accident. If Lindsey could forgive me for that she will forgive you for this, and so will Jordan. It will just take time.”  
“I feel like intense lashes are worse than a broken arm.”  
“Maybe,” Robin shrugged and turned to face Pendleton, “but you didn’t see the state of her arm nor did you intend to hurt her like that. You think I _meant_ to hospitalize Northcott two months ago? Duels are scary and make you do nasty things out of pure instinct, I know you didn’t mean to harm her the way you did.”  
They sat in silence for a few minutes and occasionally Pendleton would sniffle or wipe his face. The wind would pick up and settle causing the bridge to creak and groan every so often and Robin could feel the wood behind her back settling.   
“You think they’ll actually forgive me?” Pendleton asked after a while.   
“Yeah, I really think they will. And to be fair I taught Lindsey the exact same spell so she could’ve used it on you.”

+++

A few hours after the first competition had ended the scores were released. Pendleton came in first, Lindsey in second, Jan in third, and Basile in fourth. Just about the entire Thunderbird house visited Lindsey in the medical wing as well as Jordan and Mara. Robin ended up staying with Pendleton until late that night when almost everyone was in bed. Jordan returned to the Slytherin dorms angry and silent, refusing to look at Pendleton but that was expected. Robin chose not to talk to her friend but to go and visit Lindsey instead.   
“She’s really not doing bad, whatever spell Basile Fabron used really did a lot of good. Jordan’s angry but we all knew that would happen, make sure Pendleton doesn’t get too beat up over all this madness.” Mara told Lee that night at dinner.   
Robin snuck out of the dorms late that night and quietly walked to the medical wing where she saw Lindsey resting in a bed. She was propped up on her elbows and a book was in her hands, a No-Maj one she had brought over from home. She used her wand to illuminate the pages and flinched when Robin sat down at the foot of the bed.   
“Jesus, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Lindsey whisper yelled. Robin used Lumos to illuminate the tip of her own wand and looked at the damage that had been done. Lindsey was in a tank top and Robin could see the red lashes that went across her chest and arms. One even started at the base of her neck and went across the bottom part of her nose. They would surely scar over as the wounds had been deep but luckily they only hurt like a mere knee scrape would, not a wound from a sword.  
“I guess you’re doing fine then?” Robin asked as she inspected her friends face a bit more.  
“I’m fine, don’t even worry about me because everyone else is freaking out enough already. Honestly they just look worse than they feel.” Lindsey said in reference to her wounds. “I’ll be okay and at least I get some cool scars out of it.”  
Robin smiled, feeling a little better but not much.   
“Is Pendleton okay?”  
“No not really. He cried for hours and he feels horrible about the whole thing, Jordan’s not helping all that much.”  
“I’ll talk to my brother, as for Pendleton tell him to come and visit tomorrow so I can assure him everything’s alright. It was a duel and people do stupid things during a duel, at least I didn’t come dead last; you saw that I got second place which isn’t all that bad.”  
“No it’s not.”  
“Especially for someone who sucks at dueling in the first place.”  
They chatted for a few more minutes but Robin decided it was best she get some sleep. The next few weeks would be turbulent times as everyone awaited the next competition clue to be released and hopefully Jordan could forgive Pendleton.


	6. Part Six

November faded into December and the leaves fell from the trees and snow came from the sky. Hogwarts turned into a winter wonderland as the castle was covered in snow as well as the surrounding grounds. Brisk winter winds made everyone hurry to their classes a little faster and soon the grand Christmas Tree stood proudly in the Great Hall. Weekend trips to Hogsmeade is where everyone did their Christmas shopping for their friends and families and the cheerful holiday feeling made the Ilvermorny students feel a little more at home as they felt a sense of familiarity.   
Robin and Pendleton sat side by side on the old wooden bridge behind the school. It had become a bit of a meeting spot for the two of them as Jordan was still rather angry about the first competition despite the fact Lindsey had forgiven Pendleton weeks prior. Pendleton accepted the fact that he probably shouldn’t hang out with Lindsey in front of Jordan for the time being, and he limited the amount of time he spent with the group of Ilvermorny students in general despite protests. Meal times were awkward as they all still sat with one another but Jordan insisted on sitting farthest from Pendleton and neither would speak to one another.   
Despite the tension, Robin still made sure to spend time with Pendleton outside of class. Both had just gotten out of Dark Arts Studies meaning their school day was finished and recently Robin had been introducing Pendleton to the type of music she listened to. The wooden bridge was one of the only places where Robin got cell reception and thanks to the charm Jordan had put on her phone battery, it never ran out, leaving lots of time for the two teens to listen to Robin’s Spotify playlists. Pendleton had seen a smartphone once or twice before when a Muggle born student would pull one out during meal times but he had never really seen anyone use it before. The item was startling and he still wasn’t used to all the lights and colors it produced.   
Robin always said music from the Wizarding World was strange and confusing but Pendleton couldn’t understand how she had that point of view when he found all the music she listened to rather strange. For the most part she listened to a lot of upbeat music and bands that had funny names but as the winter approached she began to listen to calmer, slower songs that Pendleton found a little sad. As they sat on the bridge the two teens listened to a song called “Come Down” by a person called Sylvan Esso but even though Pendleton listened intently to the lyrics he couldn't understand what the point of it was and why there were no instruments used.   
“So,” Pendleton said as he pulled out the earbud Robin had stuck in his ear, he had began to dislike the song they were listening to which is how he felt about the majority of the music Robin would play, “are you excited for the Yule Ball?”   
Robin furrowed her brows and shrugged her shoulders. She was starting to get annoyed about the subject of the Yule Ball as everyone was making a big deal about it. Back at Ilvermorny the seventh year students were allowed a dance at the end of the school year to celebrate their graduation but it seemed much more casual than the Yule Ball. It seemed like it was practically required to have a date to the ball and as it was a week before the event kids were scrambling to find dates.   
“I guess so.” Was the only thing Robin responded with. 

+++

Three days before the Yule Ball Robin was much more focused on wrapping the Christmas presents she had bought her friends rather than finding a date for the ball. As she sat with Mara, Lindsey and Stephanie at one of the tables in the Great Hall she watched as a fourth year boy from Hogwarts asked a girl to the dance at the last minute. Thankfully he was not rejected as that could’ve lead to loads of embarrassment, but he happily walked away from the girl he asked to the ball with a smile and she giggled to the rest of her friends.   
“Robin,” Lindsey said as she jammed her elbow into Robin’s stomach. Robin swatted Lindsey’s arm away and rubbed her side which was left with a sharp sting. “Why id Jan Weber making his way over here?”  
“What are you talking about?” Robin grumbled as she focused back on her homework. She wished Pendleton was with her because he understood the process of creating a Horcrux much better than she did.  
Just as Robin was about to flip to the next page in her notebook she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw the smug face of Jan Weber, who stood over her with his arms crossed and a few of his buddies were behind him. Robin was confused as to why Jan even took a small liking to her in the first place. Apparently he heard about her duel with Northcott which impressed him and she fact she had taught Lindsey how to duel. Jan always made sure to strike up a conversation with her any chance he got in Dark Arts Studies and even though he wasn’t rude, he was definitely a playboy. It’s not like Robin found him physically repulsive, he was most certainly attractive as he stood tall and muscular, had sandy blond hair and a striking jawline, but it was the fact he definitely knew he was attractive. Jan Weber would flirt with anything that had a pulse.  
“Hey Jan.” Robin said flatly, turning so she could give him her full attention. Mara and Stephanie were watching with eager eyes while Lindsey was trying to stifle laughter. Lindsey knew Robin wasn’t too fond of huge social gatherings nor was she fond of having dates.   
“Why hello Robin Stuart, how are you finding the homework for Dark Arts Studies?” Jan took a seat next to Robin and glanced at her textbook and spiral notebooks that were strewn across the table.  
“It’s whatever.” Robin responded, eager to get back at the aforesaid homework so she could go back to the dorms and read or listen to music. There was a lull in conversation as Jan tried to figure out what to say next and Robin’s friends watched the interaction play out.   
“So Robin, what are your plans for the Yule Ball?”  
Robin looked up from her work with wide eyes and mentally punched herself in the face for not realizing why Jan Weber was sitting at her table in the first place. Of _course_ he would be asking her to the Yule Ball as it was only three days away and apparently she was the girl who had caught his attention for the past month and a half.   
“I was wondering if you would like to go with me, as my date.” Jan said confidently. Lindsey let out a small snort and Stephanie and Mara smiled widely. Robin grimace as she turned to face Jan, not ready to face the embarrassment that was about to happen.   
“Unfortunately someone has already asked me Jan, but if they didn’t I would’ve one hundred percent accepted your offer. I’m so sorry dude.”  
Mara and Stephanie halted their smiles and Lindsey stopped smirking as well. The fact that Robin just turned down the offer of one of the most popular boys in school was one thing but the fact she already had a date was a whole other topic Lindsey found intriguing. Lindsey thought Robin would end up just going with Jordan or maybe even by herself.  
“That’s quite alright,” Jan said with the same confident smile he was wearing before, “I should’ve realized a girl like you would already have a date. I hope you have a wonderful time with whoever you go with, but maybe save me a dance?”  
Robin nodded at his offer of a dance, happy that he handled rejection so well, and after Jan left with his friends. The three other girls looked at Robin with shocked expressions plastered on their faces. “When the hell did you find a date? I thought you would be going with Jordan.” Lindsey asked as she jammed her elbow in Robin’s stomach again.  
“Jesus, can you stop doing that?” Robin asked as she pushed Lindsey’s elbow away from her. “Someone asked me a while ago and I said yes, Jordan is going with Stephanie anyways.”  
“He is? You are?” Lindsey asked Stephanie, “You never told us that!”  
“It’s not like it’s a big deal, we’re just going as friends because this kid from my Arithmancy class keeps trying to flirt with me but he in incredibly repulsive.” Stephanie replied. “So who are you going with Mara? The boy from potions?”  
Mara nodded while a faint lush littered her cheeks. None of her friends had met Terrance from potions yet but she hoped they would like him when she introduced him to everyone at the Yule Ball. Terrance had asked her to the ball two weeks ago during potions and he even presented her with a single rose while asking. The rose was now pressed between a few of her textbooks so she could keep it in a memory box she owned. Mara was incredibly excited for the ball knowing her friends would meet the boy she was talking to and she would be attending a real life ball.  
Lindsey looked up and saw several owls were flying in through the rafters, each carrying large packages. Each of the owls dropped the packages from high above and they landed in front of some of the students with heavy thumps. Owls had been coming in rather frequently as most people were having their parents deliver their formal wear a few days before the ball. Now that the Ministry and MACUSA created a floo system that was safe to transport owls, the Ilvermorny students were able to utilize their birds. Lindsey and Jordan had received a package from their mother a few days prior and inside was a beautiful gown for Lindsey and a perfectly fitted wool and silk suit for Jordan.   
Robin’s owl let out a small chirp as he dropped a package in front of Robin and perched himself on her shoulder. She looked it over carefully and saw it was from both her parents. She hadn’t expected anything from the two of them and they didn’t mention anything about sending a package in their most recent letter so she decided she would open it up when she got back to the dorms. 

+++

It was Christmas Day and everyone seemed to be in a wonderful mood. At breakfast the group decided to exchange gifts and even Jordan made small talk with Pendleton for the first time in a while. Mara had given everyone books of her choosing and Lindsey loved the one she had been given on magical creatures while Jordan looked interested on the encyclopedia of charms he had been gifted. Jordan had drawn pictures of everyone and charmed them so they were animated and came to life while Lindsey gave everyone beautiful photographs she had taken with nice inscriptions on the back. Robin gave everyone the same gift as always, money, which was put into pretty golden envelopes as well as a personalized letter.   
The excitement for the ball was at an all time high after breakfast. It was set to begin at six o’clock and would start with the dance of the champions. Each champion would dance to that waltz with their date and after the dance was done festivities could begin. Lindsey felt okay about her dancing skills, dancing lessons were lead by the headmistress herself, and she also felt pretty good about her dancing partner. Lindsey ended up asking Alexios to go with her as they were already friends and he was the one who completely urged her to put her name in the cup. She couldn’t wait to meet the boy from Mara’s potions class as her friend seemed to like the boy quite a bit, and Lindsey also couldn’t wait to see who Robin would be going to the ball with because apparently she already had a date.  
The gown her mother sent was quite marvelous. The inner layer of the dress was made of a deep navy blue silk that came down to the floor. The outer layer was sheer chiffon and had leaves and flowers embroidered on the sleeves and skirt. She thought it looked quite stunning and she liked how her red hair was a sharp contrast against the blue. Jordan’s suit was navy blue as well and she couldn’t wait to see how handsome he would look.   
Stephanie and Mara excitedly got ready for the ball with one another and Mara could not stop chatting about her date. She couldn’t wait to see him in his dress robes and she hoped he would find her dress pretty. Mara styled her hair into an intricate up-do and slid on her pretty, pale pink dress that had beaded flowers flowing down the skirt. Stephanie had a jet black slip dress that made her look elegant and powerful. Her dark hair was almost the same color as the gown and the fabric seemed to make a nice swishing noise when she walked.   
“Robin we’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!” Jordan called from the base of the stairs. Robin was still in her dorm getting ready for the ball and normally she wasn’t the type of person to take forever getting ready but for some reason she was on the night of the Yule Ball.   
“Um, I can’t go.” She called down the stairs.   
“What do you mean you can’t go?”  
“Suddenly, I have fallen ill. I cannot make it to the ball tonight!”   
Robin looked at herself in the mirror and ran her hands over the dress she was wearing. She had brought a dress for the ball when she packed her things at the beginning of the year but it seemed as if her parents had other ideas for what she would be wearing to the Yule Ball. The dress they had sent wasn’t a bad one, it was in fact quite lovely, but Robin just felt like she wasn’t the type of herson to pull it off.   
“Robin, I know you don’t like getting dressed up but I’m sure you look just fine. Pendleton already left and the ball will be starting soon so you better get down those stairs!” Jordan yelled. Robin winced before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to go down the stairs and meet Jordan in the Slytherin common room. 

+++

Pendleton waited patiently for his friends to show up for the ball. The Great Hall was decorated beautifully do it looked like a winter wonderland and all the students were dressed in beautiful ball gowns or handsome dress robes. Finally, Lindsey made an appearance and close behind was Mara and Stephanie. Mara went to go meet with her date and Lindsey and Alexios went inside the hall so they could get ready for the first dance.   
“Oh my god.” Stephanie whispered to Pendleton when Jordan and Robin rounded the corner.   
Jordan looked rather dashing in his navy blue suit. The fabric would shine against the candle lights that lined the halls and instead of his hair being messy he had styled his short brown hair into a nice quiff for the night. His glasses were still perched on his nose and his wand was tucked neatly inside one of the pockets inside of his suit. Robin walked next to him in a bright red satin ball gown. It was a simple design with spaghetti straps a fitted bodice and a flared skirt but she looked rather elegant.   
Stephanie took Jordan’s arm and they walked into the Great Hall with one another and Pendleton stood proudly in front of Robin, who just wanted the dance to be over with because she hated when people stared at her like this. “I know you hate dressing up but you actually look quite nice.” Pendleton said as he offered Robin his arm.   
Robin looked over her friend. She expected him to be wearing dress robes but he seemed to of opted for an all black three piece suit. “I feel ridiculous.” Robin muttered to Pendleton as they walked among the other students. Soft music was playing from a string quartet and everyone seemed to be excited to see everyone all dressed up and happy.   
McGonagall ushered everyone to get in positions as the four champions had to kickstart the ball by leading the first dance. Lindsey winked at Robin from across the dance floor as she got into position with Alexios and soon the music started to play. The four champions waltz across the dance floor elegantly as the music swelled and Robin kept close watch on her feet so she wouldn’t step on Pendleton’s toes. Soon other people started to join in with their dates and the ball was set into full swing.   
The ball progressed and Robin actually ended up having quite a bit of fun with Pendleton. Both enjoyed dancing so for the majority of the time they stayed on the dance floor. But when things got to hot they ended up joining Jordan and Lindsey who were seated at one of the tables, taking a break from dancing with their dates.   
Mara saw her friends from across the room and realized it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce them to the guy she had been talking to for the past months. She walked over to her friends in a rush and hugged each of them excitedly as she hadn’t gotten a chance to formerly admire their beautiful gowns and exquisite suits.   
“I thought right now would be the perfect time to introduce you to my date!” She said with a fond smile on her face. She was holding Robin and Lindsey’s hands and leading them across the great hall where she had left Terrance. Pendleton and Jordan were trailing close behind has they were curious as to who the guy who had caught Mara’s attention was. “Just promise me you’ll be nice, I know you guys will love him!” Robin and Lindsey looked at one another as they watched their friend disappear in a crowd of students before reappearing with a boy at her side.   
Lindsey’s eyes widened and Robin felt her fist clench as they stared at the boy in front of them. For a brief second Jordan almost pounced on the boy but Lindsey pressed her palm against her brothers chest firmly so he wouldn’t lunge at the boy in front on them. The brown curls, the beaming yet slightly menacing smile, and the classically handsome face of Northcott was standing next to Mara and holding her hand with a firm grip. He looked just as surprised as the others and one of his eyebrows quirked showing how confused he was. Mara stood between her friends and Northcott with a wide smile on her face, excited that her friends were meeting the boy she liked so much.  
“So this is Terrance, the boy I’ve been telling you guys so much about.” Mara said enthusiastically. She took a step forward while holding Terrance’s hand which brought him closer to her friends, who were just standing in front of her with no idea of what they should do. Mara was still smiling which was now becoming an awkward smile as her friends and date just looked at each other without saying a word.  
Lindsey’s thoughts were racing through her head. _Of course it had to be Northcott_ she thought as she pieced everything together. Mara had never seen the boy who made fun of them on the train, she didn’t see the incident at breakfast when Northcott grabbed Robin’s arm, she was sick for the Wampus v. Gryffindor Quidditch match, and Lindsey and the others had only learned his last name while Mara only knew his first.   
Finally, Robin took a step forward with her hand held out. She gave Terrance a tight lipped smile and he gave her one as well. “We’ve heard a lot of great things about you.” She said as nicely as she could while she shook Terrance’s hand with a vice like grip. He gave her a quick nod and shook everyone else’s hand, including Jordan’s despite the fact Jordan didn’t even put on a fake smile.   
“I’ve heard so much about you as well!” Terrance said with feigned enthusiasm. “I guess I never learned any of you names though, Mara always referred to you all as her friends from Ilvermorny.”  
“Oh well I guess that’s my fault!” Mara said, still holding Terrance’s hand which made Robin’s blood boil. “This is Robin, who is in Wampus and on the Quidditch team! You guys must’ve already met since you played one another.” Robin stared down Terrance who was glaring right back at her, now holding onto Mara’s waist in a predatory stance.   
“This is Jordan, who is also in Wampus and on the Quidditch team and I’m sure you’ve seen his sister since she’s the champion for Ilvermorny! Lindsey is in Thunderbird and came in second during the dueling competition.” Mara smiled at her friend and Lindsey gave her a cold smile back.  
After a few more minutes of awkward conversation Mara left to go find Stephanie which left the others with Terrance. It was four against one and all of them were ready to rip Terrance apart in a second if he made one wrong move.   
“She seems very fond of you.” Robin said harshly. She looked Terrance up and down while crossing her arms over her chest.   
“I didn’t realize she was friends with people like you.” Terrance spat.  
“So?” Lindsey said, cutting in, “You’ve been with her this long, even asked her to the Yule Ball, are you planning on breaking up with her because you don’t like her friends? Are you really low enough to break her heart like that? She really does seem to like you ad from what I can tell, you like her too.” Terrance looked at Lindsey coldly and clenched his jaw.  
Robin took a step forward which caused Terrance to flinch. “I’m not going to say anything to her but if you hurt her you _will_ suffer consequences. And if you come near me or my friends again I am not afraid to duel you again, and we both know what happened last time when we dueled.”  
The two looked at each other for a moment longer until Mara came back and took Terrance’s hand. She said farewell to her friends and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the witches and wizards to their own devices. Jordan scoffed and went to go find Stephanie and Lindsey excused herself to find her own date.   
“It’s getting late.” Robin said to Pendleton after glancing at the large clock in the hall.   
“One last dance?” He asked, holding out his hand. Robin agreed, taking his hand and following him to the dance floor where they did one last waltz with each other before heading up to the common room.


	7. Part Seven

The remainder of Christmas Break went smoothly and Lindsey savoured the quietness of the castle as most of the students had returned home for the remainder of the holidays. Ilvermorny students had the run of the castle for the most parts and all of them enjoyed the cold weather with one another as well as the fact none of the European students were there to rain on their parade. Pendleton has stayed though, his parents had traveled for the holidays and he didn’t want to inconvenience them by making an effort to travel all the way to Amsterdam for just a week. This allowed time for Jordan to completely forgive Pendleton for the events that happened at the first Wizard Tournament event as well as let the others bond over the fact they all had a mutual enemy.   
Everyone was still in disbelief that they hadn’t put the pieces together sooner. It was like everything had aligned perfectly for them not to realize that the boy Mara had been seeing was Northcott, Terrance Northcott now that they knew his first name. Pendleton had known what it was but he never bothered to tell them because no one had asked, he just referred to him as an asshole just like everyone else. But despite the fact that they knew Terrance was this horrible person every time they saw him with Mara she was smiling and so was he, genuine smiles that couldn’t have possibly been faked. With some convincing from Robin and Lindsey, they had decided not to say anything to Mara as all of them felt guilty about the whole situation. Mara was the only one who had been excited about coming to Hogwarts and she dealt with everyone’s bitching for so long they felt it was only right to allow her this one bit of happiness, even if it was from the worst person imaginable.   
What really made their relationship worse was Terrance had invited Mara to meet his family and go back to his hometown for the remainder of Christmas break. Of course she had obliged and the day after Christmas she had left on the Hogwarts express to visit Terrance’s family in England and left her friends at the castle. They watched her board the train with tight lipped smiles and even gave Terrance a wave as they left the school grounds looking happier than ever; well at least Mara looked happy, Terrance actually looked a little scared.   
However this did not mean that festivities at the castle went unnoticed. With a little bit of convincing from all the Ilvermorny students McGonagall had allowed them to play a game of Quidditch on New Years Eve for all the students and staff. With all of the students from Durmstrang, Beauxbaton, as well as almost all of the Hogwarts students being gone the two Ilvermorny teams that had come over prepared for a friendly game of Quidditch to rein in the new year.   
It was a riveting game that had started in the early morning and ended in the late evening which   
caused the small crowd to go absolutely insane with how crazy the game had been getting. Scores at been close all afternoon as Robin and Lindsey’s teams hardly ever scored due to the fantastic Keepers. Eventually, Thunderbird caught the Golden Snitch resulting in a win, but the Wampus team had no hard feelings as the game was just for fun and everyone had a good time playing despite the bitter cold weather.   
Everyone had a good time in the Great Hall as a lovely New Years party was thrown. Hogwarts teachers got to know the Ilvermorny students better and all the Ilvermorny students had a proper chance to hang out with one another for the first time that year. A countdown to the new year was written in the enchanted ceiling above the hall and everyone cheered as it finally reached midnight. Jordan snapped a few pictures on his phone and sent them to his mother as well as Mara, and everyone went back to the dorms with smiles on their faces.   
January passed by sooner than expected and soon it was February which had the harshest weather all winter. Wind storms plagued the castle grounds and most of the time trips to Hogsmeade were cancelled due to snow and ice warnings. But Lindsey wasn’t overly concerned with the weather or the content being thrown at her for all of her classes, she was much more focused on what the next possible event could be for the Wizarding Tournament. No one seemed to have a clue what it was causing her to feel much more worried about the event in comparison to last time.  
It wasn’t until Valentine’s Day that Lindsey and all the other champions received a proper hint about what the event could be. It came to them during dinner that night while all the owls had flown in with the mail. Parcels and love letters were dropped from the sky and into the hands of excited students. Mara had of course received a gift from Terrance, a letter she wouldn’t let anyone see as well as small wooden box wrapped in brown paper. Mara opened the paper and box carefully to reveal a modest yet stunning brooch of a pear tree. She smiled widely and spoke fondly of Terrance to her friends as she pinned the brooch to her blue cloak.  
“Honestly I can’t even believe he remembered!” She babbled as she admired the jeweling on the silver brooch, “It’s a pear tree because my wand is made of pear, something he learned when he had first met. Honestly I’m shocked he remembered something like this, isn’t it so sweet of him!”  
Jordan mumbled ‘yes’ and tried to stay positive as Mara continued to speak fondly of her boyfriend. Lindsey and Jordan received gifts as well but they were from their mother who had sent a nice card with a thoughtful note as well as photographs she had taken of the dragons she had been studying. To make Mara finally shut up about Terrance Robin flashed the gift her parents had gotten her, ten gold galleons she was sure to save for later. While money might’ve seemed like a lazy gift it was often uncommon for her parents to gift her anything related to the Wizarding World so she was happy they made the effort to go all the way to the Wizarding bank in NYC and convert their money to the different currency.   
Shortly after Lindsey had received the Valentines gift from her mother, another owl flew above her and dropped a parcel neatly wrapped in brown paper on her lap. It had no label to say who it was from which confused her until Pendleton had a similar package dropped onto his lap as well. The opened the parcels together, being careful in case something would jump out at them, but soon it was opened and the two of them held pairs of Quidditch goggles in their hands.   
“What in the hell?” Lindsey asked herself as she turned the goggles over in her hand. 

+++

Nine days had passed and Lindsey still couldn’t figure out the clue and it seemed like none of the other competitors were able to figure it out either. She sat with Jordan and Robin in a quiet corner of the castle where they continued to try and unravel the clue for the competition. Lindsey continued to turn the pair of goggles over in her hands, inspecting the brown leather straps in case something was written on them, and then looking through the glass lenses in case anything were to appear when she wore them.   
“I mean, you can’t _really_ play a game of Quidditch with only four people, can you?” Jordan asked as he watched his sister try and figure out what the clue could possibly mean. “They’re not going to drag the Quidditch teams into this are they? I really hope not because I would honestly consider dropping out if that were the case.”  
“It couldn’t possibly mean Quidditch, maybe it just has to deal with flying. The only other information they’ve given us was to meet in the main courtyard near the entrance of the school by ten in the morning.” Lindsey said as she flicked at the metal rims of the goggles. She looked over to where Robin was sitting, nested in one of the wide window sills perfect for sitting in. Robin was writing something in one of her composition notebooks, oblivious to the entire conversation.   
“I see Robin doesn’t have anything to say.” Lindsey stated, frustrated that she couldn’t piece together the stupid clue. It was so easy last time and now she just felt so lost.   
“Maybe they’ll tape knives to the Quaffle.” Robin said without even looking up from her notebook where she was finishing her essay on hexes for Dark Arts Studies. “Or maybe the bludgers will shoot bullets.”  
“God Robin, I really thought you had something useful.” Lindsey grumbled.  
“Clearly I didn’t which is why I never said anything. But maybe they will tape knives to the Quaffle, it would certainly make things interesting.” Robin paused for a second and finished writing the concluding sentence of her essay. “But maybe you already guessed half of it, the event must have something to do with flying or else they wouldn’t of sent the goggles or made the event take place outside. The best thing you could do is show up in your Quidditch gear.”  
Robin snapped her composition book shut and shoved it into her backpack so she could hand it in early. Lindsey mulled over what her friend had said and realized she was right, the only thing she could do was come as prepared as possible and wear the correct clothing. If she couldn’t figure it out now, she probably wouldn’t be able to figure it out in the next twenty-four hours. 

+++

Lindsey didn’t get any sleep that night due to the fact her mind was still on the goggles resting on her nightstand and she was too nervous about the next competition. She ended up getting out of bed early and grabbing breakfast before any of her friends so she could make sure it would stay in her stomach before everyone had to meet in the courtyard. She ran up to her room to get ready while everyone else was downstairs eating breakfast. She threw on Her navy long sleeved shirt, black pants, shin guards, and gloves before putting her contacts in. Her Quidditch goggles rested on her head and she ran her fingers over the black, padded, leather Keeper vest that was resting in her suitcase. She shrugged her shoulders and figured it wouldn’t hurt to put it on, in fact it might even help her not get hurt, and she pulled on the vest and buckled the straps. Before leaving she tied up her hair and threw on her navy baseball cap with her house logo stitched on the front and put her wand in its holster.   
Pendleton had said goodbye to Robin earlier that morning before everyone left for the courtyard for the second competition. He also opted to wear his Quidditch robes and the silver and green fabric hung neatly off his body, hiding his body that was shaking nervously. His wand was tucked into his robes and he stayed still while Robin helped buckle the straps of his leather vest.  
“I really don’t think it’ll be that bad.” Robin said reassuringly. “At least this time you won’t have to duel anyone. Whatever it is I’m sure you’re equipped for the task.”  
“You say that like this whole thing will be so easy.”  
“Maybe, but you know I’m right. Obviously this task is associated with flying a broom and you and Lindsey are some of the best Quidditch players I’ve ever encountered so it’s not like this should be _too_ difficult for you two.”  
Robin finished buckling the straps on Pendleton’s vest and and helped him stand from his position on the couch. She threw on her own baseball cap and tossed Pendleton his goggles before they headed off towards the main main courtyard.   
The courtyard was decorated for the days events. Banners with each of the schools logos hung from poles and decorated tents that were set up around the yard. The Ministry has also seemed to encapsulate the yard with a bubble that protected the area from the cold, February weather outside and instead made the yard warm and feel like it was spring. The grass was cleared of snow and it seemed like a picnic was being set up for all of the onlookers of the tournament. Despite the cold weather that surrounded the yard, it was a rather sunny day which caused the beams of sunshine to bounce off of the freshly fallen snow and glare into everyone’s eyes. Robin was thankful she had brought her sunglasses.   
Each of the champions stood next to one another and waited in front of the tent set up for the Ministries as well as Headmistress McGonagall. Lindsey turned around and noticed her brother and best friend were already seated on the lawn next to one another, patiently waiting for the event to start. They waved at her and gave a thumbs up which made her feel slightly better. Finally, Headmistress McGonagall emerged from the tent alongside the representatives from MACUSA and The Ministry. She waved her wands so everyone would stop talking and placed the tip of her wand against her throat so her voice would become amplified.   
“Welcome to the second event for the Wizarding Tournament!” She said loudly. Everyone cheered for a moment before she started speaking again and Pendleton could feel the palms of his hands becoming sweaty. “I would first like to thank the Ministry for setting up this lovely picnic for the onlookers of the event and protecting us from the cold weather outside. Next I would like to congratulate our champions for making it this far into the competition!”  
Cheering started up again and Lindsey looked past Pendleton and at the other competitors. Jan and Basile were both dressed in sleek Quidditch uniforms similar to Pendleton’s and had their Quidditch goggles perched on their heads. Lindsey adjusted her baseball cap one more time as well at her gloves.   
“It seems our champions have figured out part of the challenge for today. The event _will_ require them to be fly on broomsticks but not just for any old Quidditch game.” She motioned with her hand at one of the Ministry representatives and the young woman brought out a small wooden box. She opened it to reveal four, glimmered orbs that floated up gracefully from the box and one of them glided over to one of the champions.   
Lindsey noticed that they weren’t just any orbs, they were actually Snitches however none were golden. Instead, each looked like a large, engraved jewel with glittering diamond wings. The one that flitted and fluttered in front of her face was made of emerald, Pendleton’s was made of sapphire, Jan’s was a garnet, and Basile’s was made of pearl. Pendleton gazed upon the beautiful sapphire snitch that hovered in front of him and he watched as its diamond wings moved so fast they were barely visible, the only thing that reminded you they were still there was ever now and then they would catch a beam of light and made a shiny display.   
“Each of you will have to catch your Snitch so memorize what it looks like. You cannot catch someone else’s, only your own. Every thirty minutes you are up in the air a new challenge will be added, making it harder to find your Snitch. The Ministry had provided you with brooms and on the sound of the cannon, the competition will begin.”  
Four brooms were brought out and place into the hands of each competitor. Lindsey noticed they were given Firebolts to use, one of the fastest brooms ever created. She mounted her broom and hovered above the ground as she awaited the sound of the cannon. Her emerald Snitch fluttered around her face as she waited and before the deafening cannon blast she looked at Pendleton who was adjusting his goggles. She nodded at him, put her own goggles on, and the second the cannon was fired her Snitch raced towards the sky and Lindsey kicked off the ground with all the force she could muster.   
Lindsey had never ridden a Firebolt before and they really did live up to their reputation. After kicking off the ground she was launched into flight which nearly knocked her off the broomstick. She broke out of the protective spell that kept the courtyard warm and was thrust into the cold, windy air of winter. Straining her eyes, she tried to look for the Emerald Snitch that she had to catch in order to complete the fourth task and for a brief second she thought she had lost it completely until she caught a glimpse of its glittering wings. She flew after it with fierce intensity but the Snitch seemed to be a step ahead of her. Now she was flying around one of the many turrets of the spindly castle, higher than she had ever flown before, but she didn’t let her fears get to her as she raced after the Emerald Snitch.  
Pendleton was too worried to blink, fearing that if her did he would lose all sight of the Snitch he had to catch. He was now racing towards the Quidditch Pitch as the Sapphire Snitch flew just beyond his reach. Just as he felt like he was going to catch the orb, a loud whistle was heard which threw him off his game. He checked his watch and realized it had already been thirty minutes which meant a challenge was put in place. For a moment he believed that the added challenges were just a hoax as nothing was happening until a loud screech echoed through the air. Pendleton glanced behind him and strained his eyes and noticed there was something following him from behind. As it got closer and closer he realized it was much bigger than he had thought and as it let out another nasty scream, he realized what it was.   
The Snallygaster flapped its wings and tailed him from behind, baring its razor sharp fangs and screeching at Pendleton. He pushed on his brook so he would fly faster, his skin becoming chapped and dry from all the wind. He kept his eyes on the Snitch and followed it back to the castle where he soared overhead the onlooking crowd.   
“Christ, they let Snallygasters out?” Lindsey mumbled to herself as she threw herself into a corkscrew spin to avoid the two Snallygasters that were following her. The two creatures crashed into one another and fell to the rocks surrounding the castle. She was now flying near the Great Hall, chasing after her Snitch and fearing what the next challenge may bring.  
Just as she rounded a corner she watched as one of the creatures managed to knock Basile Fabron off of his broom. He screamed as he started falling towards the sharp rocks, clutching onto one of the footrests of his broom. The broomstick tried to stay flying but all it managed to do was jerk him around in the air as he fell towards doom.   
Lindsey immediately took her eyes off of her snitch and raced towards Basile. She stretched her hand out as she was flying directly downwards and soon she was able to grasp hold of the top of his broomstick. She pulled with all her might and flew upwards, still holding onto his broomstick while keeping an eye on Basile to make sure he didn’t let go. Just as her arm was starting to give out she managed to dump him on one of the rooftops and flew off to find her Snitch again.

+++

It was late into the afternoon and as the crowds started to get more and more riled up with the challenges the champions had to face, Robin and Jordan couldn’t help but feel sick. First it was the swarms of Snallygasters that attacked the competitors for the first hour, next a lightning storm that lasted for forty-five minutes. Added onto the lightning were large swarms of flies and mosquitoes that swarmed the competitors and smashed onto their goggles and faces. Soon curses were being cast into their air out of nowhere. Jan Weber got hit with Petrificus Totalus which caused him to land on one of the rooftops and break his left arm. Everyone watched it happen but after ten minutes he still managed to get back on his broom and chase after his Garnet Snitch.   
Jordan almost started crying when Lindsey was chased after a large dragon made of Fiendfyre. It caused the and of her broom to catch aflame as well as part of her shirt and pants. She ended up having to make a hard landing on the bridge leading to the main entrance of the castle to put out the flames and fight off the fire. She still got back up on her broom but there was no doubt it was now slightly slower, and it took her almost ten minutes to find her Snitch again.   
However it seemed like Pendleton ended up with the most embarrassing spell as he ended up getting blasted with some sort of charm that made him vomit uncontrollably. He was flying close to the rooftops above the main courtyard and just as everyone thought the spells had stopped he got hit with a dark purple light right in the chest. It hit him so hard he fell off his broomstick and tumbled right down into the main courtyard, right where everyone was sitting. As the crowds of people moved away from him and Jordan and Robin came rushing to the scene, Pendleton threw up everything he had for breakfast, and then some. As he emptied the contents of his stomach the Sapphire Snitch hovered right around his head, almost like it was taunting him as he lost control of his stomach and hurled its contents onto the grass. He looked up at Robin with a pale, chapped face, before remounting his broom and flying after the Snitch. The charm still haunted him throughout the event as he was often seen dry heaving atop his broom.   
Finally, someone had caught one of their Snitches. Jan Weber came racing towards the courtyard with his Garnet Snitch clutching in his right hand. His left arm was twisted and curled at his side and as soon as he hit the ground he passed out in the grass from all the pain and was rushed to the hospital wing immediately. However the whistle rang once again right after he left the yard and a loud roar echoed around the castle.  
The crowds fell silent as the Competitors stopped flying for a few moments to asses the situation. The loud road was heard once again, this time getting louder. Lindsey felt her stomach drop and Pendleton felt another wave of nausea hit his body. The creatures that made the horrific roars finally appeared and the three champions raced away in a fit of fury.   
“They really are trying to kill them!” Jordan shouted to Robin as everyone in the crowds started screaming.  
Two Chinese Fireball dragons emerged from behind the castle. Their glittering red scales shimmered in the fading sunlight and bright flames curled from their nostrils. In a fit of rage they started chasing after the champions and shooting mushroom clouds of fire in their direction. Lindsey could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes as she grew tired from all the stress she had experienced that day. Her stomach ached and her skin was chapped and cold and she just wished she could be like Jan and touch her Snitch.   
Just as one of the dragons released a loud roar, shaking the ground and causing the students to let out screams of fear as well as shouts towards the champions, Basile Fabron grasped hold of his Pearl Snitch and made a hard landing in the courtyard. Just like Jan, he was rushed towards the hospital wing as he surely had a bad concussion.   
“Your wand Lindsey! Your wand!” Robin shouted as her friends flew overhead.   
Lindsey faintly heard the sound of her friends voice and contemplated what she had said. Now that there were only two competitors each of the dragons had chosen someone to prey on. Pendleton was flying closer to the ground where the dragon couldn’t quite reach and Lindsey was making sharp twists and turns to throw the dragon off. Lindsey ripped her wand out of its holster and wrapped her fingers tightly around its polished Laurel wood.   
“Confringo!” She screamed as she aimed her wand at the dragon.   
The blast of blue light caused the dragon to shriek as the magic hit the ends of one of its wings. It gave Lindsey enough time to speed ahead and focus on her Snitch despite the fact she could hear the dragon mustering up another blast of fire.  
Pendleton was now flying beside her, his dragon trailing behind the two of them with the other one and his hand was stretched out so he could catch his Snitch. Lindsey noticed how pale and dehydrated he looked and she could feel hot tears streaming down her face. Both stretched their fingers and bodies so they could grab their Snitches and finally, each of them were able to wrap their fingers around the jeweled orbs and came crashing down to the ground. 

+++

Lindsey woke up late that night in one of the beds in the hospital wing. Jordan was sitting in a chair by her side and jolted awake when he heard his sister stirring. He nearly started bawling as she opened her eyes and turned on the lamp sitting on the nightstand. “What happened?” Lindsey mumbled as she looked at her surroundings. She was in the far corner of the room and she saw Jan Weber lying asleep in one of the beds across the room.   
“The second you hit the ground you passed out and they took you to the hospital wing. You have a couple of burns from the Fiendfyre and a nasty concussion and are probably still dehydrated, but that’s about it. They wanted to keep you overnight.” Jordan explained as he firmly grasped to his sisters hand. He wiped away a tear and looked down at his sister who was still looking around.  
“Where’s Pendleton and Robin? What were the results?” She asked.   
“They said you tied with Pendleton for third place, so at least you weren’t forth place.” Lindsey shrugged her shoulders and sat up in the bed, she could feel the skin on her arm aching. “But the second they gave him food and fluids he started throwing up again. Apparently the charm will take a while to wear off but tomorrow I’m going to the library to see if there’s anything I can do about it. Robin was here for a while but McGonagall asked if she would go back the common room with Pendleton because he refused to stay here.”  
“I feel absolutely destroyed.” Lindsey groaned as she laid back down.   
“I think after this task we all are.” Jordan mumbled in response.


	8. Part Eight

Jordan was unable to find a spell that would break the charm put on Pendleton which made everyone speculate that he might’ve been hit with some sort of curse. However, Pendleton remained cooped up in the Slytherin common room for the remainder of the weekend with Robin to keep him company. By Sunday night he stopped throwing up everything he ate and finally got some sleep. As Robin placed a blanket over his limp, sweaty body she noticed how skinny and pale he had gotten due to the spell which made her even more angry than she had been before.  
After the events of the second competition it was no secret that Robin was pissed off. All the competitors ended up having some sort of physical damage done to them as all of them had concussions, Jan Weber had a broken arm, Lindsey got burner, Basile bruised a muscle, and Pendleton faced the consequences of the curse set on him. On top of that they were all covered in mosquito bites due to the swarms they faced during the challenge. Robin was angry that they had to go through all of that and didn’t understand how people were celebrating the Tournament when all four of the champions almost died several times.  
Lindsey ended up stayed two nights in the hospital because Madame Pomfrey needed extra time to heal the burns on her skin. While she was stuck in bed Basile Fabron made an effort to visit her while she was in the hospital wing. The small curly haired boy brought her and Jan large bouquets of flowers which they both greatly appreciated and Lindsey received a lovely handwritten note as well. The note detailed how thankful Basile was for the fact Lindsey saved his life during the challenge. She smiled as she read it and gave Basile a warm hug in return.  
While she was in the hospital she actually bonded with Jan Weber quite a bit seeming as they were stuck in a room with one another. While he seemed like a rather arrogant Durmstrang student he was actually quite nice and funny. He had a love for music and both were able to relate to the fact they were Animagus’, Jan being a large great dane and Lindsey an orange tabby cat. Jan also hated the fact that his school did not accept no-maj born students and the only reason he why he attends Durmstrang was because both his parents did.  
“Before attending Durmstrang I actually learned about all the magical schools from my mother.” Jan explained while he fiddled with the fabric of his sling, his arm was so badly broken it was taking a bit of time for Madame Pomfrey to mend the bones. “I actually really enjoyed learning about Ilvermorny. I liked the idea of each of the houses representing different parts of a witch or wizard, and Pukwudgies sounded interesting. Plus the whole origin comes from a love story.” Jan blushed and Lindsey smiled.  
Lindsey and Jan were dismissed from the hospital wing early the next morning and she met with her friends in the Great Hall for breakfast that Sunday. Her arm and leg were all healed up with minimal scarring and as she ate breakfast she wrote a letter to her mother explaining what happened during the second event. It would be difficult to see her mother again during the summer and showing up with a bunch of new scars all over her body so she sound that it might be best to just explain it all in letters.  
“I’m fine, like honestly I’m doing pretty good. Pendleton is the one stuck throwing up and Jan had to go through hours of bone mending yesterday. A few burns isn’t a big deal to me.” Lindsey assured as she continued writing to her mother. Jordan had been hovering over her all morning and Mara kept asking if she was alright. Robin had known Lindsey might’ve wanted some space but that didn’t stop her from giving Lindsey a hard stare every once and awhile.  
“Okay well I’m sorry I can’t get over the fact that you almost _died_ like several times.” Jordan huffed. Lindsey shrugged her shoulders and started picking at one of the mosquito bites on her face until Mara swatted her hand away.

Later that night Lindsey was laying in her bed after finishing the remaining homework she had put off earlier that weekend. She had gotten word that Pendleton had finally stopped throwing up and was getting some rest for the first time that weekend and she felt slightly more at peace. Despite the fact she had told everyone she felt fine, a small part of her still felt put off by the second challenge. Jordan and Robin were right, she really had faced death several times during the whole ordeal and so did everyone else. She was starting to feel the consequences of her actions and she didn’t like it one bit, and a part of her wished she had never put her name in the Goblet of Fire.  
But she was selected and it was impossible to back out now so the only thing she could do was finish the competition and make it out alive. Lindsey knew she had a small chance of winning the Wizard Cup now that she hadn’t come in first place for any of the events but winning wasn’t on her mind at the moment. The next competition was in June which gave her plenty of time to focus on her studies and place the competition in the back of her mind.  
She dug the Emerald Snitch out of her cloak pocket and placed it in the palm of her hand. It was just a glittering orb now, encrusted with diamond that would unravel and make up the wings. She held it up to the soft, glowing candle light coming from her nightstand and watched the jewel glimmer and refract the light around the room. Lindsey held it closer to her face and looked at all the detailing. She wondered why she was allowed to keep it seeming as it was made out of pure emerald and diamonds and she had never heard of a jeweled Snitch before.  
As she rolled it around in her hands she could swear she heard it emit a faint hum. Upon further inspection and holding it close to her ear, there was a definite noise coming from the Snitch. It was barely noticeable as the noise was just a high pitched humming noise that sounded like a violin squeaking. Lindsey looked at the Snitch with a quirk in her brow, wondering why the Snitch would be releasing such a noise, but decided that it must be the magic that allowed it to fly around. 

+++

When Lindsey’s name was chosen from the Goblet of Fire, Mara couldn’t help but feel disappointment. It was the one and only chance she had at competing in the games and even though she knew it was a long shot, a part of her felt quite a bit of resentment and betrayal towards her friend. Lindsey _knew_ that she was the most excited about the Wizarding Tournament and how much she had wished to be chosen and even though she tried to get her friends to put their names in the cup she didn’t expect either of them to _actually_ do it. If someone else had been chosen from Ilvermorny, someone she didn’t really know, had been chosen then she might’ve felt a little better but the fact it was one of her best friends made her feel a little hurt.  
Why would the cup choose Lindsey of all people? Someone who wasn’t excited to come to Hogwarts and had expressed no interest in putting their name in the cup. Mara loved and celebrated everything in the Wizarding world and she always looked forward to the tournament so why wasn’t she chosen?  
All these feelings made Mara feel even worse because this was one of her best friends that she was having all these nasty feelings about. She should feel happy for Lindsey, excited that she was taking part in this once in a lifetime opportunity, but she didn’t feel happy or excited at all. As the school year progressed and the first competition took place she continued to push these feelings down and ignore them as much as possible. She knew that ignoring her feelings was an incredibly unhealthy coping mechanism but she didn’t know who to talk to. Jordan would always come to his sisters defense, even though she spent a lot of time with Stephanie she didn’t want to burden her knew friend with such a heavy topic, and Robin just wouldn’t understand because she didn’t grasp how big of a deal the Wizarding Tournament was.  
But then there was Terrance.  
Mara had been spending quite a bit of time with Terrance as of late and she thought it was for the best. They had made things “official” when he asked her to the Yule Ball in December and she had waited for weeks to introduce her friends to the wonderful boy she had been seeing all school year. But when they did meet at the ball Mara could feel the tension emanating from her friends. She was upset when she watched them treat Terrance so coldly, shaking his hand with stiff handshakes and Jordan even refused to make eye contact with her boyfriend. When she told her friends she was spending the remainder of the holiday break with Terrance she wasn’t surprised when they gave her a few subtle eye rolls and mumbled responses.  
Holiday break went smoothly and she met Terrance’s parents who owned a lovely apartment right in the heart of London. She got to see her boyfriend’s room and noticed how many books he had on wand making. During New Years dinner her surprised her and his parents with the news that he was able to complete an apprenticeship under one of the sons of Ollivander, one of the greatest wand making families in Europe. Spending time with Terrance and his family gave her a much needed break from all the negativity at Hogwarts and she felt like she could be herself again.  
But on the prospect of returning to school Mara couldn’t help but get upset. Two days before they had to pack up and catch the train back to Hogwarts, she broke down crying in front of Terrance while they sat in front of his fireplace. His parents weren’t home and they seemed to be having a moment, one that she destroyed with the tears she couldn’t stop from falling. He brought her close to his chest and gave her a warm kiss on her forehead and stroked her hair as she continued to cry.  
Mara spoke between sobs and explained how she was feeling. How she felt betrayed and conflicted at the same time and how much she wished she was chosen for the Wizarding Tournament. Terrance continued to hold her and run his fingers through her hair to calm her down. Mara held onto him tightly in return and she wished neither of them had to return to school.  
“Sometimes people like them just don’t understand how much these things mean to us.” Terrance said once Mara finally calmed down.  
“People like them?” Mara asked, wiping the tears from her face.  
“People who aren’t purebloods.” Terrance responded, almost like the answer was obvious.  
When they returned to school she noticed how her friends were all smiles and kept talking about how much fun they had while everyone was away. Everyone kept talking about how nice and quiet the castle was and a riveting Quidditch match between Thunderbird and Wampus held on New Years as well as an exciting New Years Eve party. Mara never liked Quidditch all that much considering she was never good at it and it didn’t seem appealing to sit out in the cold for a few hours to watch people fly around on brooms. Mara thought she didn’t miss all that much while she was gone.  
By the time the second challenge came around Mara decided it was best to move past her sadness and focus on spending time with Pendleton. She sat with him during the whole event and the two of them enjoyed the picnic, almost forgetting about the kids flying around on broomsticks above them. A part of her was thankful she hadn’t been picked considering they were having to chase after snitches on brooms on one of the coldest days of the year, and she was absolute shit at flying. When Pendleton came tumbling to the ground, throwing up his guts and seeing Lindsey get chased by a dragon didn’t seem like any fun either, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside seeing as she still felt upset and jealous over the fact she had not been picked for the games. 

+++

Pendleton stopped puking by Sunday night and after a close inspection from Madame Pomfrey he returned to classes despite her protest. He insisted that it was too great of a risk to miss any classes as final exams would be approaching soon and he didn’t feel like missing any more work. He walked with Robin to the Great Hall that morning for breakfast and he tried to ignore the fact he had to buckle his belt extra tight that morning and his sweater was hanging loosely off his shoulders due to all the weight he had lost over the weekend. Robin tried to ignore his dark circles and pale face as well and they walked into the Great Hall silently.  
Terrance looked up from his textbook when he heard the doors open and a few students shuffle inside amongst the commotion. He saw that it was the girl from Ilvermorny, Robin, as well as Pendleton Digby. He noticed how tired Pendleton looked as the tall blonde walked through the hall and slumped down on a bench next to the squad of Ilvermorny students who were always hanging out together. Terrance slowly brought his eyes back to his textbook and waited for Mara to join him for breakfast.  
“Jesus Pendleton, I thought Madame Pomfrey would make you take the day off. I thought she’d make all of you guys take the day off considering how rough Friday was.” Jordan commented after giving a good look at Pendleton’s current state.  
“School’s too important and my classes are only in the morning, I’ll just suck it up for now and get sleep after class.” Pendleton responded with his fingers covering his eyes, causing his glasses to be pushed up against his forehead.  
“We aren’t dead Jordan.” Lindsey said as she flipped through her homework and copied some of the answers off of Robin’s paper. She still felt a little sore and her skin was sensitive but her brother seemed to believe she was about to fall over and die any second. The only thing Lindsey was _really_ worried about was the letter from her mother which was bound to come any day now, Jamie had yet to return to the owlery.  
“In fact,” Lindsey said as she finished copying off of Robin’s paper and shoved her composition book into her bag, “hopefully Pendleton gets better by the end of the week because Robin and I were thinking about going to Hogsmeade sometime this weekend.”  
“Yeah.” Robin said quickly before Jordan could say anything, “None of us have really gotten the full tour because the only times we go are with Mara, and she just enjoys the hiking trails around the community. We were thinking Pendleton might give us the full tour of the place. You in?” Robin kicked Jordan’s shin under the table and he just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled ‘Yeah I guess.’ as he realized he wouldn’t be able to say no.  
“What about you?” Lindsey asked, nudging Pendleton with her elbow.  
He removed his fingers from his eyes and adjusted his glasses. A faint smile crossed his lips as he was happy he had something to look forward to over the weekend. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

+++

The week went by normally and ended in a group study session in the library to help prepare Jordan and Pendleton for their upcoming exams. Robin helped Jordan with anything and everything related to the Dark Arts whereas Pendleton needed more help with Arithmancy and Magical Creatures, the subjects Lindsey excelled in. Robin made sure to invite Mara along to the study session when she caught word there was a Potions exam the following week, and Robin even invited Terrance with a tight lipped smile.  
“Oof,” Mara said as she clutched her books with one hand and Terrance’s hand with the other, “Terrance and I made plans to study with one another this evening. I wouldn’t want to intrude since none of you guys take the same class.”  
“It wouldn’t be that big of a deal.” Robin insisted as she walked beside Mara, “And like I said, Terrance can totally come and it wouldn’t be a big deal or anything. Jordan might need some extra help with potions and you’re definitely the expert in that subject.” She said as excitedly as she could.  
Mara glanced up at Terrance who had a feigned smile on his face before looking back at Robin. “We’re okay, really. We don’t want to intrude.”  
“Oh.” Robin mumbled before running her fingers through her hair and fiddling with the lining of her cloak, “Well we are all planning on going to Hogsmeade tomorrow too. I felt like we haven’t hung out in forever and I know everyone would really like to get to know Terrance.”  
Robin cringed at her own words and while Mara wasn’t looking, Robin saw Terrance make an obvious eye roll. She had no need to get to know the racist, son of a bitch dating her friend but they came in a package deal now so the only way of getting Mara to Hogsmeade was if she invited him.  
“Yeah, maybe. I’ll see how much studying I get done tonight.” Mara said before quickly walking off with Terrance. Robin was left alone in the bustling hallway and she stood amongst the students for a brief moment before pushing past the crowds so she could get to the library on time to meet the others.  
In the library she helped make Jordan flashcards for some of the curses he was learning about and helped him sort out some of the curses from the hexes he needed to know. It was a written exam and everyone knew written exams were much more difficult than practicals as you had to explain magic in your own words, something much harder to do than actually perform to spells themselves. Jordan also explained that part of the exam would be an essay dedicated to the three Unforgivable Curses where he would have to write a comprehensive essay dedicated to the history of the curses and explain at least one curse to its fullest extent.  
“If you’re going for substance I’d say the Cruciatus Curse is your best bet.” Robin said as she rifled through her bag. She had brought her old Defense Against the Dark Arts notes she had collected over her many years of study. “One of your main body paragraphs could be about how the spell has several layers to it similar to the Killing Curse.”  
“Layers?” Jordan asked as he pushed up his glasses and watched Robin flip through one of her old composition books.  
“Yeah, layers. Similar to the Killing Curse the caster must have a genuine willingness to create incredible amounts of pain, you’ve gotta be a sadistic and insane person to cast the spell effectively. For example, lets say that using the Unforgivable Curses on human beings _wasn’t_ illegal and you tried casting the spell at me. Unless you have some sort of secret grudge on me then I would probably turn out completely unharmed.”  
Jordan furiously scribbled down notes in his own notebook and motioned for Robin to keep talking. “Okay but lets say that you are completely furious with someone, like totally and completely enraged with someone to the point words can’t even describe your emotions. Maybe in this scenario our favorite Gryffindor Seeker has not only verbally attacked your friends but also beaten Lindsey in a duel, severely injuring her. You’d be pissed right?”  
“I would actually kill him.” Jordan replied flatly.  
“You say that but you’re not some blood thirsty person. To actually kill someone you’d have to genuinely want to see them dead without consequence. But I’m sure you’d want to see him hurt. But in this case if you were to use the Cruciatus Curse you’d be using it in “righteous anger”. Just being angry at someone still isn’t enough for the curse so at most you’d stun them, maybe knock them off their feet and make them unconscious and cause some bruising but not hurt them the way the curse is intended to.”  
“So like, you’ve gotta be fucked if you are able to use the curse properly.”  
“Yeah, like completely fucked. That’s why people like Bellatrix Lestrange were so good at using it. But you could really go off about the detrimental effects of the curse and go on about the mental effects it has on the victims.” Robin sorted through a couple of her notebooks and grabbed a few she thought would be useful. “Take these and study from them, all of them focus on curses and should help you the most for this exam.”  
Jordan took the notebooks graciously and for the remainder of the study time Lindsey helped Pendleton with his Magical Creatures studies and explained the various types of dragons to him as well as their habitats. They all returned to their dorm rooms late that night and all were excited about the trip to Hogsmeade the next morning. Pendleton had recovered nicely over the week and made sure to get some much needed sleep as well as eat enough food so he was ready for the weekend. He was quite excited about the trip and made a small list of things he would show the group of Ilvermorny students. 

+++

The next morning Jordan woke up the sunlight streaming into his dorm room through the slits in the curtains. He checked his phone and saw he had a few more minutes until he needed to get out of bed so he stayed in his bed, running his fingers over the smooth rowan wood that made up his wand. His alarm went off quietly on his nightstand and he quickly shut it off so he wouldn’t disturb the other students in his room. He quickly got dressed in a t-shirt and jeans before slipping on his sneakers, coat, and hat. Everyone planned on eating a light breakfast in the Great Hall before collecting their owls, it was about time they spent some quality time with their birds and Hogsmeade welcomed pets in their shops.  
Breakfast was simple and they all spoke excitedly about the day’s adventures as the small group of teens walked to the owlery to collect their owls. Pendleton didn’t have an owl but instead had a large Maine Coon cat named Olivia that padded behind him, close on his heels. He was dressed in the most casual clothing he owned, khaki pants and a thick knitted sweater made from soft wool with a warm winter robe draped over his shoulders; a sharp contrast from his friends who were all in jackets, jeans, and light t-shirts underneath.  
When they finally arrived at Hogsmeade they stopped at Honeydukes first, the popular candy shop that all witches and wizards seemed to adore at Hogwarts. The shop was glittery and cozy and the Ilvermorny students marveled at all the wizarding treats the shop had to offer. Some were familiar some not so much, Ilvermorny didn’t have such a place and the only time kids got special candied treats were at the seasonal feasts.  
“Bertie Bott’s every flavored bean?” Lindsey asked, holing up a small bag filled with various colored jelly beans.  
“Be careful with those, when they say ‘every flavor’ they really seem to mean it.” Pendleton said with a chuckle.  
He watched his friends roam around the shop a bit more and saw Jordan had settled on liquorice wands, Lindsey had bought a peppermint toad, and Robin had bought a small bag of crystalized pineapple from the small section of muggle treats in the back of the shop. Pendleton purchased a sugar quill for himself, an old childhood favorite of his he hadn’t tasted in years, and all of them bought chocolate frogs for themselves to see which card they might get.  
Afterwards they walked around the small community of Hogsmeade, sipping on hot chocolates they purchased from a street vender and looking at items other people were selling. Pendleton didn’t realize there would be a fair this weekend but thought it was perfect as it gave them more time to do things and hang out in the village.  
One of the vendor's had a small table out in front of them with several small wicker baskets sitting on top. Robin looked inside the baskets and realized inside were hundreds of postcards, each with different charmed pictures of the village, the school, and even Diagon Alley and some of the other Wizarding schools around Europe. There were even just a few of the countryside, trees bending their branches in the wind and fireflies flickering their lights on and off. Robin was mesmerized by the postcards and purchased five of them. She had a large collection back home in New York and thought it would be nice if she sent one or two of them home to her parents.  
Later, after eating lunch at the pub the group decided to end their day trip at a small bookstore located in the back of the village. When they entered they were met with the smell of paper, the crackle of a fire in the back corner fireplace, and an old woman with large spectacles who ushered them inside and told them they were free to wander around for as long as they liked. The shop seemed much bigger on the inside and the teens split up in search of a book that would suit their needs.  
Lindsey was drawn to the section for magical creatures. She was slowly deciding on the path she wanted to follow after finishing school and she knew she always had a place by her mothers side to study and protect the magical creatures all around the world. As she wandered through the shelves of the shop she felt like the letter ‘h’ was a good place to stop. Many creatures started with the letter ‘h’, Hippogriffs, Hodag, Horned Serpents, but Lindsey decided to pick out a lengthy book about Hidebehinds that had a frayed spine and worn pages. When she flipped it open she found there were several inscriptions within the margins adding even more to the content, she smiled at her choice and started reading the chapter titles.  
Despite all his fine efforts Jordans still felt concerned about his exams, especially the one for Dark Arts. Robin helped him draft a fine thesis for the essay section but his best skills were in charms not the dreary and spooky Dark Arts his friend seemed to be talented at. He drifted through the many shelves of the bookstore, letting his fingers traces over the backs of each spine until he landed on a book all about cursed objects. He knew there would be a section on cursed objects and Jordan always had trouble explaining how magic binded to objects to make them react or do certain things. He slid the small paperback book off the shelf and continued to glance over the rest of the books in the same section.  
When she first stepped inside the shop Robin noticed a small sign hanging above one of the shelves, “Muggle Books This Way” it said in big orange letters underlined by a bright blue arrow pointing in the direction of the single shelf that contained the nomaj books. Robin learned that wizards and witches didn’t keep up with the newer books in the muggle world and would often house older classical, gothic, and some modern era books. She was dying to get her hands on a copy of “The Catcher in The Rye” as it was one of her favorite books and she didn’t feel like reading any of the Wizard books that were about nomaj people. They always got things wrong, or even characterized people from nomaj history incorrectly and while that could be entertaining every once and a while it wasn’t always what she was looking for. There was someone in the same isle facing the opposite direction, looking through the shelves containing books about wand making and she didn’t realize who that person was until she bumped shoulders with them.  
“Having fun on your little trip to Hogsmeade?” Terrance Northcott spat while tucking a book under his arm. Robin rolled her eyes and continued looking through the books on the nomaj shelf. There were about five different copies of Jane Eyre but she still couldn’t find a copy of Catcher.  
“We _are_ having fun thank you very much.” She rifled through the books and discovered a copy of “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, not what she was looking for but she decided to tuck it under her arm anyways. “Why are you even here Northcott, I thought you and Mara would be studying all day.”  
Northcott turned to face back towards the books about wand making. “We have been studying all day, she still is but I got antsy and tired of going over the same set of Arithmancy flash cards. I didn’t realize she studied for tests so… thoroughly.”  
“She’s not thorough she’s over prepared.” Robin shot back.  
“Excuse me?”  
“What?” Robin asked, finally finding a very beat up copy of The Catcher in the Rye. “I’ve known Mara for years, she over preps for tests and studies the past three units before going over the material for the current unit. She psychs herself out.”  
There was a moment of silence and Robin thumbed through the copy of Catcher to check and see if there were any missing or torn pages. Terrance continued to look through the books about wand making but his mind was elsewhere as he was painfully aware of who stood directly behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the muggle born, Ilvermorny student casually looking through some book he had never heard of and shuddered at the thought of continuing conversation with her but is need to get the last word in overcame him.  
“She says none of you understand her.” Terrance said, placing a book under his arm and staring at Robin. She jerked her head up from her novel and quirked a brow.  
“Who, Mara?” She asked.  
“Obviously.” Terrance spat. “I don’t think any of you realize how much it pains her, none of you make an effort to truly appreciate the world of magic; especially you, mudblood. You don’t understand what it’s like to be a pureb-”  
“Oh shut the _fuck_ up Terrance!” Robin whispered harshly. Terrance was taken aback at the use of such foul language and furrowed his brows, ready to whisper yell back at Robin. She cut him to the chase, shushing him before he could say another word.  
“I honest to god don’t understand how you people have the nerve to parade around the school and the rest of the magic community thinking you’re some sort of god or have hierarchy over everyone else. I’m a nomaj born witch Terrance, a nomaj born witch from America where nomaj people are still taboo. I don’t understand how you people act like witches and wizards are the most powerful people in the universe when you guys are so cut off from the rest of the world, you are surrounded by nomaj people yet you make no effort to learn about them or even associate with them.” Robin snapped, poking Terrance hard in the chest with her index finger. He was stammering, at a loss for words as he didn’t expect Robin to blow up at him.  
“And how dare you accuse me of not making an effort of integrating myself into the magic culture!” Robin whisper yelled at him. “Just showing up to school is making a big enough effort! My parents and I had no clue that this would be my life and all of us went into this not knowing a thing about magical culture so just being here is my way of making an effort. Maybe _you_ should make an effort to learn about nomaj culture, there are more halfbloods than purebloods and they seem to be doing a pretty good job handling both!”  
Robin stared intently at Terrance for a moment and he stared back with wide eyes and a slightly opened mouth. “And next time you see Mara you can tell her that if she has a problem with being my friend then she can come to me personally, and maybe you should relay everything I just told you to her as well.”  
Robin purchased her books and waited outside for the others, too bothered to stay inside the shop any longer and look at Terrance Northcott’s face.


End file.
